Excel is a fine tool, and many good processes begin there. The trouble starts when a spreadsheet quietly becomes a system that the business depends on.
Signs a spreadsheet has become a system
These patterns usually appear together.
- Several people edit the same file, and versions collide
- Only one person understands the formulas
- Data is copied between workbooks by hand
- There is no record of who changed what
- Different people need to see different parts of the data
What software adds
An application gives each person the right access, keeps history, enforces rules at the point of entry and connects to other systems. Those are the things spreadsheets are worst at.
It also removes the risk of a single broken formula quietly changing a result.
When to keep the spreadsheet
If one person owns the file, the logic is simple and the stakes are low, replacing it is not worth the effort. Replace a spreadsheet when the cost of its failure, or of its workarounds, exceeds the cost of a proper system.
This topic is part of our Web Application Development work.