Almost every company starts out in Excel, and that is the right decision. The problem starts when Excel turns from a calculation tool into the system the whole process rests on, and when the people depending on it start waiting on each other.
Eight signs you have outgrown Excel
- the file has names like record_final_2_fixed
- several people cannot work at once, or changes overwrite each other
- no one knows who changed a row or why
- you manually retype data from Excel into another program or into email
- there is one person who is the only one who understands the formulas
- the monthly report takes half a day of manual work
- you discover formula errors only after they have already reached the customer
- the file contains personal data and circulates by email
Even three of these signs mean that Excel costs nothing in licences, but costs you a fair amount in time and risk.
Why Excel breaks down with more people
Excel is designed as a spreadsheet for calculation, not as a system for running a process. It has no concept of roles, statuses, approvals and responsibilities. When five people work in the same file, four problems appear that a spreadsheet cannot solve.
Concurrency
Two people change the same row. Whoever saves last wins, and no one notices.
Permissions
Whoever can open the file sees everything. Including salaries, margins and customer data. Partial permissions in Excel are practically impossible to set up in a way that holds.
Traceability
There is no change history. When a figure is wrong, there is no way to establish when and why it changed.
Rules
Excel does not prevent someone from leaving a mandatory field blank, entering a date in the wrong format, or skipping a step in the process. An application prevents this in advance.
What should stay in Excel
The transition does not mean Excel disappears. It stays where it really is good: one off analysis, quick calculations, simulations, preparing data for a decision. Only what constitutes a process with several people and several steps gets moved out of it.
- stays: analysis, scenario calculations, ad hoc reviews
- gets moved: customer records, orders, statuses, approvals, deadlines, documentation
What the transition to an application looks like
1. Mapping what the file actually does
Every column has a reason, even if no one uses it anymore. First separate what is essential, what is history and what is a leftover from some old agreement.
2. Cleaning the data
Duplicate customers, different records of the same company, blank fields, dates in three formats. This gets sorted out before the import, not after.
3. The first version of the application
It captures one process from start to finish, with rights, statuses and change history. It does not have every wish, but it does have everything needed for daily work.
4. A parallel period
For a few weeks Excel is still kept as a backup and reference. Once the results match, the file is archived.
How much time and money this takes
For one clearly defined process, the first usable version is usually ready in one to three weeks after the prototype has been approved. A broader scope, more integrations or untidy source data take longer. The price range is described in the guide on the price of building a custom application.
If you are wondering what such a system would actually do for you, look at the move from Excel to an application or published projects.
Frequently asked questions
When is Excel no longer suitable for running a process?
When several people work in the same file at once, when versions with names like final_2 start appearing, when it is not visible who changed what, and when you manually retype data from Excel into other systems.
Do we have to abandon Excel completely?
No. Excel remains excellent for analysis and ad hoc calculations. Only the running of the process gets moved out of it, that is records, statuses, approvals and data used by several people.
How does transferring data from Excel to an application work?
First the data are cleaned and standardised, then imported into the application, and finally the result is compared against the source file. Excel is kept for a while longer as a backup.
How long does the move from Excel to an application take?
For one clearly defined process, the first usable version is usually ready in one to three weeks after the prototype is approved. More integrations, a broader scope or untidy source data take longer.