When a spreadsheet stops being enough

Spreadsheets are the best prototyping tool a business has. The trouble starts when the prototype becomes the system.

The signs

Two people edit the same row at once. Someone keeps a private copy. Month-end takes a day of reconciling. A new hire needs a week to learn the tabs. Nobody knows who changed a number.

Replace one flow, not the sheet

Pick the flow that hurts most, usually orders or approvals, and move only that. The rest of the sheet can stay until it starts hurting too.