ProblemSpreadsheets
Our business runs on a spreadsheet that keeps breaking
A spreadsheet is the right tool for longer than software sellers admit. Fix the file first. Then decide, from clear signs, whether it has reached its limit.
A spreadsheet breaks when it is asked to do a database's job: several people editing at once, records that must never be lost, and rules about who may change what. Start by fixing the file: one shared copy, one row per record, locked formulas and drop-down lists. If people still overwrite each other, or the file is the only place important records live, a small record system replaces it. Ours start at N$6,499.99.
What you see, and what it usually means
| What you see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Files named “final”, “final 2” and “use this one” | Copies are being emailed or passed on a flash drive, and each one has drifted. |
| Totals that change when nobody touched them | A formula was overwritten with a typed number, or a row was inserted outside its range. |
| The same customer spelled three ways | Free typing. Counting and filtering cannot work on it. |
| Only one person dares to edit it | The file has rules that live in that person's head. |
| It takes a minute to open, or crashes on a phone | It holds years of rows, or far too many formulas and colours. |
| Nobody can say who changed a figure | A spreadsheet keeps little history and no record of who did what. |
What you can do yourself
These cost nothing but time. Do them before paying for software, including ours.
Keep one copy, online
Put the file in OneDrive or Google Drive and share the link, not the file. Everyone then edits the same copy and you can see earlier versions.
One row per record, one kind of thing per column
No merged cells, no blank rows, no totals in the middle of the data. Put totals on a separate sheet.
Use drop-down lists
For anything that repeats, such as customer, status or branch, use data validation so people choose instead of type.
Lock the formulas
Protect the cells with formulas and the header row, and leave only the entry cells open.
Split entry from reports
One sheet for typing in. Another that only reads from it and shows totals. Nobody types on the second.
Archive old years
Move finished years to their own file. The working file opens faster and breaks less.
Today, and with a system
Today
- Copies of the file in email and on flash drives
- Anyone can overwrite anything
- No record of who changed what
- Hard to use on a phone
- Reports rebuilt by hand each month
With a system
- One set of records, always current
- Each person sees and changes only what they should
- Every change is logged with a name and a time
- Works on a phone and on a computer
- Reports are ready whenever you open them
- More than three or four people must enter records at the same time.
- Different people must see different things, such as their own branch only.
- A lost or changed row would cost real money or a customer.
- Staff need to add records from a phone, away from the office.
- You have fixed the file and the same problems returned within months.
What we would build
We look at the file with you and list what it really does: what is recorded, who enters it, who reads it and which totals matter. Then we build a small system around one main record, load your existing rows into it, and keep an Excel export so you are never locked in.
A system that replaces a spreadsheet starts at N$6,499.99 for up to five people and takes two to four weeks.
Common questions
Is Excel or Google Sheets the problem?
No. Both are excellent at calculating and at one person's analysis. They are weak at many people entering records at once, at controlling who may change what, and at keeping history. Those are the jobs of a database.
Would Microsoft Access or a ready-made app do instead?
Sometimes. If a ready-made product already fits how you work, buy it. Build or buy lists how to tell. Custom software earns its price only where your way of working is the thing that makes you money.
Will we lose our old data?
No. Your current file is loaded into the new system once, and checked row count against row count. The original file is kept untouched.
Can we still get our data out in Excel?
Yes. Every system we build exports to Excel. Your records are yours and must stay easy to take with you.
Describe the problem. We will send back a scope.
Say what is slowing the work down and who is affected. You get a one-page scope in plain words: what would be built first, how long it takes and what it costs. It is free, and you owe nothing if you do not go ahead.