From spreadsheets to a system: when your business outgrows Excel

Signs it's no longer enough

• There are several versions of the same file and nobody knows which one is right.
• Two people can't work on the sheet at the same time without overwriting each other.
• A broken formula threw off a report and nobody caught it in time.
• To know how the month is going, someone has to build the report.
• When the person who runs the file goes on vacation, the operation slows down.
• The same data gets typed by hand into Excel, into email and into the invoice.

Your options

The first is off-the-shelf software: a system that already exists for inventory, invoicing, appointments or sales. If your process looks like most companies', it's usually the fastest route. The second is a custom system, which makes sense when the way you work is what sets you apart, or when no product fits without forcing you to change it.

There's a third option people forget: connecting what you already use. Sometimes nothing needs replacing; your tools just need to pass data to each other on their own.

How to switch without stopping the business

1. Map the process: who does what, with which data and where it gets stuck.
2. Define the first version: the minimum that solves the main problem.
3. Build in stages, so every one or two weeks your team tests something that works.
4. Move the data from Excel into the new system and review it together.
5. Train the team and keep Excel read-only for the first few weeks.

What to insist on

• A fixed price and timeline in writing, before work starts.
• Code and data owned by your company.
• The ability to export your information whenever you want.
• A system that works on a phone, not just on the office computer.

Not everything needs to leave Excel. In the free consultation we look at what's worth moving into a system and what can stay in a spreadsheet.