That critical Excel file deserves real software.
Excel is excellent at modelling a process. Terrible at running it across 10 people, under audit constraints, integrated with other systems. When the spreadsheet has become the operating system of a critical process, it is time to turn it into dedicated software while preserving every rule that already works.
What happens today.
Almost every company has 'that Excel file': born as a prototype of a process, grown through years of patches, today it is the operational brain of something critical. Price lists, production planning, project management, pricing, quality control: the spreadsheet knows things no business software knows, and losing it would be a disaster.
The problems are well known: no multi-user (the file moves around by email), zero audit trail (who changed that cell?), fat-finger errors, dependency on the one person who 'knows the spreadsheet', impossibility to integrate with other systems. The more critical the file, the bigger these risks grow.
Turning that spreadsheet into dedicated software does not mean erasing the rules that work. It means putting them into a web app with multi-user, audit trail, validations, integration with other systems, and the same calculation logic the spreadsheet already uses.
That Excel file isn't temporary. It's been temporary for 8 years. Let's stop calling it a prototype.
The solution, broken into parts.
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Spreadsheet reverse engineering
We map formulas, cell dependencies, VBA macros, implicit rules, tribal knowledge in the file. Output: complete documentation of the business logic, before touching a line of new code.
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Web app with the same logic
We build a multi-user web app with the same calculation logic as the spreadsheet. UI familiar to spreadsheet users (cuts the learning curve), database persistence (no more concurrent-edit conflicts), automatic audit log of every change.
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Integration with other systems
API to the ERP, CRM, production systems: data that today is copy-pasted into the spreadsheet arrives automatically; results that today are re-transcribed go directly to downstream systems.
The typical profiles who benefit.
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SMEs with spreadsheet-'governed' processes
Companies where an Excel file governs a critical process: pricing, planning, project management, quality control. Typically 5-50 concurrent users, MB-sized files with thousands of formulas.
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Professional firms with Excel-based internal tools
Law firms, accountants, labour consultants: spreadsheets to manage matters, deadlines, specific calculations, billing. Multi-client, multi-user, audit trail required by internal policy or GDPR.
Transparency on what the client does.
Before we start we need a few accesses and decisions. All reasonable, no surprise asks.
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The current spreadsheet and its context
- Full Excel file with macros, formulas, real examples
- Spreadsheet power users for discovery sessions
- List of typical users and their use cases
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Scope decisions
- What must be preserved 1:1 vs what can be simplified
- Possible integrations with other systems (ERP, CRM)
- Audit, GDPR, sector-specific compliance constraints
Indicative numbers, not quotes.
- TIME
- Typically 6-14 weeks from discovery to go-live. Very complex spreadsheets (hundreds of formulas and macros) up to 20 weeks.
- COST
- Range €15,000-60,000 depending on spreadsheet complexity and required integrations.
- MODEL
- Fixed milestones. Soft launch on a user subset, progressive scaling.
Indicative numbers. For an accurate quote, let's talk.
Answers to the most common questions.
What happens to the current Excel file during migration?
It keeps being used normally. We develop the web app in parallel. When the web app is ready, users can use both for a few weeks (parallel run with reconciliation), to make sure the logic is identical. Then cutover is decided together. The spreadsheet stays as backup.
Will the interface be very different from the spreadsheet?
We try to keep the user experience close to the spreadsheet where possible (e.g. grids with editable cells for lists, pivot tables for analysis), but with the web-app advantages: validation, auto-suggestions, multi-user, persistent undo. The learning curve is typically a few days.
Does it work for non-technical users?
Yes. The web app is designed for the people who use the spreadsheet today, not for developers. Clear UI, familiar behaviour, no technical concepts exposed. We provide training (4-8 hours split into sessions) and an operating manual based on your specific context.
Recognize your case?
Write a couple of lines about your context. We'll reply within 24-48 hours with an initial assessment and a first orientation on time and cost.
Let's talk