9 signs the spreadsheet is no longer enough
- Files like “orders_final_v3_fixed.xlsx” circulate by email.
- Someone regularly asks: who changed this, and when?
- Two people edit the same file and one overwrites the other's changes.
- Some people should see only their own rows, or shouldn't see purchase prices.
- Formulas break now and then because someone pasted a value into the wrong cell.
- Data has to be entered in the field, on a phone, and a spreadsheet on a phone is torture.
- You retype the same data from the spreadsheet into another program, for example for invoices.
- The file takes longer and longer to open, and the filters can't keep up.
- All the knowledge of how the spreadsheet works is in one person's head.
One sign is not yet a reason to change. Three or more usually mean the company pays more for the spreadsheet in time and mistakes than it would pay for a simple app.
In-between solutions before you build an app
- Tidy up the spreadsheet
Data validation (drop-down lists instead of typing), locked formulas, one data tab instead of copies in many places.
- Move it to a shared cloud
One file in the browser instead of versions in emails solves the problem of copies and gives you a change history.
- A database with a ready-made interface
Tools like Airtable or the open-source NocoDB and Baserow give you tables with permissions, forms and views, without programming.
- A simple custom app
When the process has its own rules, integrations are needed or the data has to stay on your server.
When an app costs less than a spreadsheet
An app has an upfront cost, a spreadsheet has a cost spread over time: retyping, hunting for errors, calls asking for the current version. Count how many hours a week the team loses looking after the spreadsheet. If it's several hours every week, a simple app usually pays for itself sooner than it seems.
Don't throw the spreadsheet away. It's the best specification you can give a developer: it shows the fields, dependencies and exceptions that really occur in your company.
What a good app should have instead of a spreadsheet
Questions and answers
Can an app work alongside a spreadsheet?
Yes. Often, at first, the app exports data to a spreadsheet used by accounting or management, and over time the spreadsheet is no longer needed.
How long does moving a spreadsheet to an app take?
It depends on the number of tabs, rules and integrations. A simple register with permissions is a completely different scale from an order system connected to a warehouse.
What about the data already in the spreadsheet?
It's moved over when the app starts. It's a good moment to tidy up: duplicates and inconsistent entries come out during the import.