Selling a VBA program

[Ezguy4u]

I have a question that isn’t directly associated with excel, but maybe somebody has experience with this and can give me some guidance. Question; what if I come up with a vba program attached to my excel workbook/worksheet, and I believe it might have some commercial value. The vba program performs some kind of function, that somebody in a commercial sector would pay money to own. So my other questions are;

• I would like to sell this program to people who do not have access to an excel spreadsheet.
• I would like to have a stand-alone software that does the same thing the excel vba program.
• Is there a web site that would translate a vba program into a stand-alone program?

And lastly, does python, C++ or java give me a clue to my question? Thank you for your time.

 

[Micron]

No conversion (translation) tool that I'm aware of. You'd have to develop in a version of C, .Net (dot net) or VB (VB isn't VBA). Perhaps you could find an old copy of Visual Studio (can't recall for sure but I don't think it was ever free from M$). You'd be looking at a long learning curve, IMO. After all that, you'd need an installer. No idea how you'd replicate a spreadsheet in any of those languages. Probably 90% of the PC world has Excel, so maybe just make that a prerequisite?

Another option might be a database (perhaps Access) because you don't need Access as a user; they can install the free Runtime version. That would also protect your code project, and Access vba might be more conducive to your Excel vba. Of course, there is no such thing as a sheet or range in Access, so none of that would apply unless you use Access and automation to control Excel workbooks. Access has a fairly steep learning curve, especially if you intend to develop a db for commercial sales - you can't be amateurish about it, such as using Access macros (macros in Access are not the same thing as in Excel).
HTH

 

[Ezguy4u]

Micron thank you for your input. There is a lot of good information there. Now I am thinking, since money is of no object, is there some place I could go and pay somebody to convert this excel workbook to a stand-alone program? I’ll give this one more try. Thanks for your time.

 

[Micron]

Sorry, I don't know of anyone or anywhere. I've been around Access quite a while, but that's about it for me.

 

[Joe4]

Maybe look into create an Excel Add-In.
Lots of people do that to pre-package VBA code and sell and/or distribute that.

There are lots of articles you can find on the web with a Google Search regarding creating Add-Ins.
So you can research that and see if that might be a fit for you.

 

[Ezguy4u]

Micron, Thank you for your time. Joe, you have some good suggestions here. Add-In is one aspect of excel I haven't really explored. I am going to drill into this idea and see if I hit gold. Thanks

 

[Ezguy4u]

Update Well on youtube there was some information about ESEA web development. Convert Excel Sheets To Web App With VBA & Macros | EASA
Now I am not endorsing this sight as much as asking if anybody has used it.

 

[bebo021999]

This website may useful to whom wish to earn money as freelancer. Lots of jobs involving excel, VBA...
www.freelancer.com

 

[Ezguy4u]

You know Bebo, I was on freelancer and just could not get any traction. Maybe for a good reason but I just couldn't get anybody to talk to me.

 

[Dan_W]

Another option is (potentially) TwinBasic - though it is still in Beta, it claims to be 100% compatible with existing VBA and VB6 projects. Ostensibly, it will be able to generate stand alone executables, but I'm not in a position to say whether or not that is appropriate/available for your project. Again, it is still in Beta, so it is an open question as to whether or not it will be able to do all that it claims, but they have made the beta downloadable for people to try.