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Excel has become the de-facto standard spreadsheet application on Windows. Many small businesses consider buying Excel and the rest of Microsoft Office a basic expense. There are versions that are customized for big companies, network installation, small entrepreneurs and students as well.

Not everyone can afford this expense or the innevitable upgrades that will follow it. There are alternatives out there that can meet your needs.

If you have a client that sends you information that you rely on as an Excel 2003 workbook but you don't need to edit the file yourself, you can download Excel Viewer 2003. It's free of charge and comes straight from Microsoft. This tool also makes sense for companies where some users have a licence for Excel but it's not practical to pay for everyone to have it.

While I'm on the subject, of course I also have to mention OpenOffice. It's a free office suite that does a good job of replacing all the applications in Microsoft Office. It's also able to read and write Microsoft Office files. If you go this route though, be aware that the user interface is markedly different from MS Office.