Replacing the spreadsheet that the business actually runs on
Nearly every business we work with has one: a workbook that started as a list and became the system of record. It works, right up until two people need it at once, or the person who built it is away.
What it looks like today
- One workbook holds the real numbers, and one person truly understands it.
- Two people editing means one of them loses their changes.
- Every month starts with copying last month's tab and clearing it out.
- A formula broke at some point and nobody is certain when.
What replaces it
- The same information, with several people able to work at once.
- History kept, so you can see what changed and when.
- The rules written down in the system instead of living in one head.
- A backup that is not a file called final-v4 on somebody's desktop.
See what this would look like in your business.
Tell us how the work runs today. We'll show you where it leaks and what we would build first, at a fixed price. The first conversation costs nothing.
The spreadsheet is usually right — that is the problem
We are not going to tell you the spreadsheet is bad. It is generally an accurate model of the business, built by the person who understands it best, and that is exactly why it is worth replacing carefully. The job is to carry the logic across without losing the judgment baked into it, which is why we start by drawing how the business works rather than by picking software.
What we look at first
Where two people need the same file. Where a number gets typed twice. Where the process depends on somebody remembering. Those three usually account for most of the pain, and they are also the parts that are cheapest to fix first — which matters, because a first phase that pays for itself is what makes the second phase an easy decision.
This is a real job below our usual band
Our build phases run five thousand to twenty-five thousand and up, but one process, one report or one recurring problem is a genuine piece of work below that, and it is how several of our engagements started. If you have one file that is causing most of the trouble, that is a conversation worth having.
Questions
Questions about Replacing spreadsheets
Something else? Ask in the form below, or call (848) 285-5243.
When should a business replace its spreadsheets with software?
When the spreadsheet has become the system of record: two people need it at the same time, only one person really understands it, or the same numbers are typed into it and somewhere else. At that point it is worth asking what the hours spent around the file are costing.
Will we lose the way we work now?
No. We start by learning how your spreadsheet is actually used, including the formulas and the workarounds, because it usually reflects real knowledge about the business. The system keeps what works and removes the retyping, the version confusion and the single person everything depends on.
How much does it cost to replace a spreadsheet?
Replacing one important spreadsheet is often a smaller job than our usual $5,000 to $25,000+ build phase, and smaller jobs are welcome. The price is fixed and agreed before work starts, and the data you already have is brought across.
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Start a conversation
Tell us how your business runs. We'll show you what we'd build.
We'll look at how you work, show you where time and money leak, pick the first piece worth building, and show you what it would look like. A first conversation costs nothing. A real person replies within one business day.