If you use a computer – whether a Mac or a PC – you’ll have to read and write documents in Microsoft Word and Excel format. Eventually, you’re going to be given Powerpoint slides to read or present. This isn’t an endorsement of Microsoft; it’s a fact of life – Microsoft Office is the de facto standard for document exchange between PCs.
Unfortunately, Office is pricey. A single-user, single-computer business license for Office is $199.99, and if you need to add Publisher or Access, the price is to $399.99. If you need Office on multiple computers, this can add up quickly.
You have only three real options:
(Don’t worry about email in general or Outlook in particular – I’ll cover email solutions later.)
No matter which solution you choose, make sure everyone in your organization is using the same one. Homogeneity today will save you headaches tomorrow.
Microsoft Office
If you can afford it, go for it. There’s no better way to ensure that you’ll be able to exchange documents with other people using Word than if you can use Word.
Fortunately, you can obtain Microsoft Office inexpensively. If your choir is a 501(c)(3) organization (and if you’re not, you should be), TechSoup has an arrangement with Microsoft to provide Office to you inexpensively - as of this writing, you can get a full-blown Office Professional license for only $31 each.
Open Office
If are not a 501(c)(3) organization or you don’t meet Microsoft’s eligibility guidelines, you still have hope. Open Office is an open source work-alike application that mimics much of the functionality of Office.
It doesn’t do everything Office can do, but it does almost anything you need. Plus, you can’t beat the price – it’s completely free, which makes it great for nonprofits.
Google Docs
Google Docs is another Office work-alike application, and – like Open Office – it’s completely free.
Google Docs keeps all of its documents on Google’s servers – “the cloud” – instead of on your local computer. The advantage: your documents are available anywhere you have a web browser. The downside: you cannot access your documents if you don’t have an internet connection.
