Documentation that is fast and easy to navigate with suggested best practices. Including reference material for more technical users that want to extend and customise Microsoft Office using VBA, C# and JavaScript.
Email Us »Support, consultancy and training that is tailored to you. No service agreements just fixed price deliverables. A non-disclosure agreement protects all your confidential information, including any code and ownership stays with you.
Email Us »Add-ins and productivity tools that can be downloaded and installed directly from the Microsoft App Store. These add-ins will work in any browser as well as on the desktop and are designed for people who want to be more productive.
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Expertise across four applications.
Integrate seamlessly with a consistent look and feel for all your automation.
Excel:
The first electronic spreadsheet was called VisiCalc and was released in 1979.
The first version of Excel was released in 1985 and the first Windows version in
November
1987.
Since 1985 Excel has supported end-user programming (.XLM) and user-defined functions.
In 1990 the application got toolbars as well as add-in support.
In 1993 it was possible to record macros in VBA.
Word:
The first word processor was called Bravo and was released in 1974.
The first Windows version of Word was released in 1983.
It was possible to save files to HTML in 1997 and in 2002 the first task pane appeared.
In 2007 the toolbars were replaced with tabs on a Ribbon.
PowerPoint:
The first presentation program was called PowerPoint and was created in 1983 by a company called
Forethought.
Microsoft acquired this in 1987 and it was added to the Office suite immediately.
The first Windows version was released in 1990.
In 2007 the binary file format was replaced with Office Open Xml.
Outlook:
The first browser based email services appeared in 1993 and Outlook Web Access (OWA) was created in
1995.
Hotmail was launched in 1996, acquired by Microsoft in 1997 and rebranded as Outlook.com in 2012.
Third party add-in integration got added in 2015.
Expertise across three programming languages: VBA, C# and JavaScript.
The Microsoft Office Development Platform allows you to increase your productivity and customise your
Office applications.
VBA programming language: Introduced in 1997 as a way to automate repetitive tasks and
customise the experience.
The reason for its success is because it is installed as part of Microsoft Office and the users can
easily access it.
Despite the potential risks and the limited capability, business users continue to use it because it is
very
simple and extremely effective.
C# programming language: Introduced in 2001 to address the shortcomings of other
languages,
such as C++ and Java.
Automating Microsoft Office using C# lets you customise the applications and leverage the full power of
the .NET Framework library.
This technology can only be implemented successfully using Visual Studio and requires a very steep
learning curve.
JavaScript programming language: Introduced in 2012 to allow Microsoft 365 add-ins to be
deployed across multiple platforms.
This lets you customise the applications and allows web pages to be fully integrated into Office using
Web
technology.
Learning JavaScript and HTML comes with its own list of challenges and requires another very steep
learning curve.
Expertise working with both users and developers.
End User Developed Applications (EUDAs) are software programs that have been created by non-programmers.
These applications allow the front office to quickly increase productivity without involving the IT
department.
We help the front office by taking their ideas and creativity and combining it with our programming
expertise, to create real business value.
We provide Business Users with fast turnaround times, dedicated email support and clear
documentation.
We support and maintain end user developed applications to allow users to focus more on increasing
revenue.
The ownership stays with them and there are NO monthly subscriptions.
We work alongside IT departments to reduce the risk associated with end user developed applications.
We have the programming expertise to understand the technology.
We assist Professional Developers in implementing best practice standards, optimising code and
adding robust error handling.
We take on the support burden so the IT department can focus more on security, compliance and regulatory
requirements.
The intellectual property stays with them and there are NO monthly subscriptions.
Assemble solutions quickly with reusable code that has already been tested.
Removing the hassle and complexity from your Microsoft Office automation.
Better Solutions Limited offers End Users and IT Departments a dedicated, london based, Microsoft Office
programming resource that can align with any EUDA strategy.
Using developers that have Limited Experience results in quick fixes and makes subsequent changes
much harder.
A better solution would be to use developers that are experts in one or two languages and then get them
involved with the other areas of the development life cycle.
Using developers that Over Engineer solutions results in code with unnecessary complexity and
makes
debugging much harder.
A better solution would be to only use the core language features and implement them using an agreed
coding convention that makes the code easy to understand.
Using developers that have poor Interpersonal Skills results in bad communication and makes
support
much harder.
A better solution would be for the developer to have regular interactions with the users and for them to
have full ownership and accountability for the code.
2023 | Moved the website hosting to Azure. Updated the Vision, Services and Consultancy pages on the website. Migrated the website to Bootstrap 5.3. |
2022 | Uploaded our first 365 add-in called Excel Custom Functions into the Office Store. Started an Office JS proof of concept project for a large US customer involving Office 365 and MS Graph. |
2021 | Started to build our first Microsoft 365 add-in for the Office Store. Installed Windows 11 and moved our Code Management application into beta. Enhancing our Excel online resource to include all the new Office 365 functionality. Started exploring .NET Core and the various Office Development options using Visual Studio Code. |
2020 | Completed the Vision and Services pages on the website. Created Instagram account. Migrated all VB.NET code to C# in our code repository. Started exploring Office Scripts and Power Automate. Acquired a few more high-profile customers establishing long-term partnerships. |
2019 | Uploaded JavaScript section to the website. Migrated the website to Bootstrap 4.0. Liaised with Microsoft regarding functionality for the new JavaScript Excel APIs. Started attending the Microsoft Office Add-in community calls. |
2018 | Completed the Strategy page on the website. Installed Visual Studio Code and started learning NPM, Webpack, Fluent UI, React and TypeScript. |
2016 | Started learning Office Add-ins and JavaScript. Acquired a large london based, investor advisory specialist, as a customer. Provided them with a dedicated programming resource helping them to deliver both Excel and Outlook add-ins and templates. |
2014 | Uploaded VBA and C# sections to the website. Created Twitter and Facebook accounts. |
2010 | Moved to Barclays Capital as a Fixed Income developer to migrate solutions from VBA to VSTO technology. Completely re-writing and migrating the Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities research authoring tool from VBA to .NET. Providing a dedicated Excel programming resource to both the Equity and Fixed Income research departments. Working on a team responsible for all the Microsoft Office Add-ins and Solutions globally within the research division of Client Facing Technology. |
2008 | Purchased Visual Studio 2008 and focused on learning more about the C# Office Developer Tools. Built custom solutions for Email Management, Code Management and Project Management. Uploaded Word, PowerPoint and Quant sections to the website. |
2007 | Returned to the front office as an Excel RAD developer for BlueBay Asset Management, a London based hedge fund specialising in Fixed Income and Credit Derivatives. Providing a dedicated Excel and VBA programming resource for the Traders and Portfolio Managers. My biggest project was designing and automating the Investment Grade Client Marketing Factsheet as a document-level VSTO C# solution. |
2005 | Expanded consultancy services to more businesses in and around London providing them with Excel productivity tools for data processing and data aggregation. Designing and delivering Word authoring templates for quick document creation and formatting. Launched eleven editions of a BetterSolutions.com newsletter. |
2004 | After working for 6 years I decided to take a career break to focus on three things: Learning Visual Studio, Migrating VBA code to VB.NET and enhancing the website. Took on a number of bespoke consultancy projects, the largest one being for a leading insurance and reinsurance company based in London. |
2003 | Registered the domain name 'bettersolutions.com' and uploaded all my notes. Purchased Visual Studio 2002 and started learning how to customise Office using the .NET Framework. Acquired a specialist Lloyd's of London insurance syndicate, as a customer. Provided them with letter and fax VBA Word templates and advanced VB.NET PowerPoint authoring tools. Also delivered Excel chart and table formatting solutions. |
2002 | Moved to Credit Suisse to become a Support Analyst within the Equity Derivatives front office. Working directly with the traders both in London and New York helping them to migrate off their Excel P&L spreadsheets. Responsible for all first line support across the OTC Options and Convertible desks with a focus on reducing the support burden for the implementation teams. |
2001 | Purchased a book called "Excel 2000 Power Programming with VBA" written by John Walkenbach. There were only a handful of Excel websites at that time and very few offered professional consultancy services. |
2000 | Transferred to Deutsche Bank to become an Equity Research developer to provide a dedicated VBA programming resource for the whole London Equity Research department. Here I wrote numerous Excel add-ins including ones to create, generate and upload various types of files, analyse folders and execute SQL statements. I also created the European Sales and Trading morning note which consolidated the morning news across fourteen countries. |
1999 | Moved to UBS to continue as a Research Assistant and took responsibility for all the Microsoft Office automation methods used by the Small Cap team. This included re-writing Excel and Word templates to improve accuracy and speed. My most significant contribution was re-writing the SmallCap Quarterly 'two-page' template (400+ pages). |
1998 | Graduated from the University of Warwick with a Mathematics degree I started my career as a Research Assistant at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Working closely alongside 20 Equity Analysts my responsibilities included composing emails and distributing notes on the trading floor. |
Better Solutions Limited
London, N20 8LU
Incorporated 2004
VAT No 840-0533-67
Company No 05155080
Better Solutions Limited
London, N20 8LU
Incorporated 2004
VAT No 840-0533-67
Company No 05155080