A workflow hangs on a spreadsheet only one person understands
The risk isn’t the file, it’s that its knowledge lives in a single head. So the fix doesn’t start with software but with writing down the file’s logic. Only then is it decided whether a cleaned-up file is enough or the workflow belongs in an add-in or an application of its own.
How it gets solved
The file is walked through step by step with the person who maintains it: where do the figures come from, which formulas carry the weight, which steps happen outside the file?
The result is a description of the workflow that someone else can follow — valuable on its own.
If it gets automated, the logic moves into code that is tested and versioned. The interface often stays Excel, except that nobody can overwrite a formula by accident any more.
What drives the effort
- How many steps happen outside the file, by hand or by word of mouth
- Where the input comes from — DATEV, other files, email
- Whether the results feed into further documents
Every quote is preceded by a free conversation in which the scope gets cut back as far as it will go.
How billing worksWhen it isn’t worth it
If the file is rarely needed and losing it costs time rather than deadlines, it’s enough to document it and train a second person. That costs an afternoon, not software.
Common questions
- What if that person is about to leave?
- Then document first, while they’re still here. The automation can wait; the knowledge can’t.
- Does the spreadsheet go away?
- Not necessarily. Excel often stays the interface, and only the logic behind it is made robust.
More typical cases
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