# Off Topic > Tips and Tutorials >  >  PDF to Excel Data Conversion Software

## ExcelTip

In this tip I will discuss how PDF to Excel conversion can help your business and point you to the top PDF to Excel conversion tools.

Almost all the information related to your business and personal life, from lists of potential clients to your very own bank statements, either comes as a PDF document or can be easily turned into one. This is not the case with Excel. If your bank or your suppliers do not produce Excel data on a regular basis, there is almost nothing you can do to persuade them to do so.

Along the years I have learned of many business processes where conversion of PDF documents to Excel datasheets can really speed things up. For example:

1.	Getting transactional data from the bank into your ERP software
2.	Using Excel to compare your annual/quarterly reports to your competitors reports, which gives you an effective competitive edge
3.	Converting accounting information into a specialized Excel template
4.	Creating an Excel database of exam questions from standardized PDF tests
5.	Updating an product database with current prices

This is just a taster of the things you can do with PDF-to-Excel conversion software. Once you put your mind to it, you will find that such a tool can save you many hours of work.

Following are 3 important resources related to PDF converters:

1.	Cogniview PDF2XL  This is by far the best tool out there. With it you have total control of how information is exported to Excel: you can see the information in a preview window, which saves a lot of frustration when exporting the data. PDF2XL also supports multiple page conversions. But perhaps the most important feature is the lifetime technical support you get with the product. I have sent several email inquiries to their support department and they were answered within the hour. If you need a PDF to Excel conversion tool, PDF2XL is a steal at $ 95.

2.	Adobe writer  There is not much that needs to be said about the Adobe writer, but one of its less known features is the table selection tool. With this tool you can mark the table in the PDF and copy it to excel. The Adobe writer is not a specialized PDF to Excel conversion tool, and at a cost of $299 it would be wiser to consider the alternatives, but if you already own it, it can do the job.

3.	http://labnol.blogspot.com  Amit Agarwal is a known authority on technology issues in general and on PDF-related software specifically.

Joseph Rubin

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