Your spreadsheet is the spec
A spreadsheet that has run a business for a few years is a good starting point. Its columns show what you track. Its tabs show the stages work goes through. The color coding and the notes in the margins show the rules people follow without writing them down. We read all of that before suggesting anything, and the app keeps your names for things so nobody has to relearn the job.
What changes
In the spreadsheet
- Anyone can change any cell, including formulas
- No record of who changed a row
- Hard to use on a phone
- Summary tabs updated by hand
- One wrong sort can scramble the data
In the app
- Each person can edit only what their role allows
- Every change is logged with a name and a time
- Screens laid out for phones and tablets
- Totals and lists that work themselves out
- Sorting and filtering never touch the stored data
How we move the data
We map every column to a field and every tab to a record type or a status. Then we clean the data: dates typed three different ways, customer names spelled two ways, rows that are really notes. You review a test import with your own records before anything goes live. On switch-over day we import the final copy of the sheet, lock it as read-only, and keep it as an archive.
From columns to tables
Most business spreadsheets mix several kinds of record in one tab. Customer details get typed again on every job row, and parts are listed in a notes column. Splitting those into linked tables is what lets the app answer questions the sheet can't, such as every job for one customer, or every job that used a certain part. You can see a concept of that split on the process page.
When to keep the sheet
Not every spreadsheet should become an app. If one person uses it, it rarely changes, and it works, leave it alone. We'll tell you if that's the case. The good candidates are sheets that several people edit, that break often, or that someone has to tidy every week before anyone can trust them.
Questions
Can we still export to a spreadsheet?
Yes. Every list in the app has an export, so your accountant or anyone else who likes spreadsheets can still get one.
Our sheet has macros. Can those carry over?
The logic can. We read what each macro does and rebuild it as part of the app, where it runs the same way every time.
Tracking work in a spreadsheet that keeps breaking? Send us a copy with the customer details removed, or just describe it, and say who uses it and what goes wrong.
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