When should a spreadsheet be replaced by a system?

When several people work in it at once, when somebody regularly retypes its contents elsewhere, or when it holds data whose loss or corruption would genuinely hurt the business.

Do we have to replace every spreadsheet?

No. Only the part that stopped being an experiment and became a record others rely on. For everything else a spreadsheet is a good tool.

How long does moving from spreadsheets to a system take?

The first spreadsheet, including its data, takes weeks. They are moved one at a time, with the new version running alongside the old one for a month.

When a company outgrows its spreadsheets

19 November 20245 min read

Short answer

A spreadsheet stops being enough when several people work in it at once, when somebody regularly retypes its contents somewhere else, or when it holds something whose loss would genuinely hurt. Until then it is the best tool you have, and replacing it earlier is an expensive mistake.

01Seven signs

Two or three at once is enough. If five are true, the spreadsheet costs more than it saves.

01There is a version called “final_2_really”. Nobody is certain which one counts.
02Somebody regularly retypes data out of it into another system, or the other way round.
03It holds things not everyone should see, and everyone can open the file.
04It no longer opens on a phone, or takes a while to load.
05Only one person still fixes the formulas, and when they are away, everything waits.
06Nobody can reconstruct who changed what and when.
07Money decisions are made in it and nobody is accountable for the numbers being right.

02What spreadsheets are genuinely good at

Not having to ask anyone. When a new column is needed, it appears. No custom system matches that speed and it is only honest to say so.

Which is why replacing the whole spreadsheet makes no sense. What gets replaced is the part that stopped being an experiment and became a record other people rely on.

03The first step worth taking

Not a system. A list. Write down which spreadsheets exist in the company, who maintains each, and what happens if it disappears.

In most companies that list itself points at two or three files held by one person, without which sales or invoicing would stop. Those are the candidates. Nothing else is.

04How to move without it hurting

One spreadsheet at a time. The first is moved into the system with its data, runs alongside the file for a month, and once people have settled, the spreadsheet is frozen and archived.

Do not move everything at once. A company that switches off every spreadsheet on a Monday spends a month firefighting and a year saying the system was a mistake.

Frequently asked

When should a spreadsheet be replaced by a system?: When several people work in it at once, when somebody regularly retypes its contents elsewhere, or when it holds data whose loss or corruption would genuinely hurt the business.
Do we have to replace every spreadsheet?: No. Only the part that stopped being an experiment and became a record others rely on. For everything else a spreadsheet is a good tool.
How long does moving from spreadsheets to a system take?: The first spreadsheet, including its data, takes weeks. They are moved one at a time, with the new version running alongside the old one for a month.