Internal systems
A spreadsheet is a great start. Here are five signs it now holds you back more than it helps, and what to do about it.
The spreadsheet isn't the enemy
Almost every company started in Excel, and rightly so. A spreadsheet is free, everyone can use it, and in an afternoon you can build a register of orders, stock or jobs. For ten orders a week and three people, it's often the best possible solution.
The trouble doesn't arrive all at once. The company grows, people join, one spreadsheet becomes three, and simple formulas turn into a web of references that only one colleague dares to touch. Nobody notices the moment the spreadsheet stopped saving time and started eating it. So here are five signs to watch for.
1. You type the same data in several places
An order arrives by email. Someone copies it into the orders sheet, then into the stock sheet, and finally into the accounting software. Every copy costs minutes and is a chance to make a mistake.
Once in a while, that's fine. When it happens every day across hundreds of records, you're paying people to copy and paste. If someone's job effectively includes "moving data between spreadsheets", that's the first and clearest sign.
2. Everyone has a different version of the file
orders_FINAL.xlsx, orders_FINAL_v2.xlsx, orders_FINAL_fixed_Peter.xlsx. Sound familiar? As soon as a spreadsheet travels by email or people save their own copies, there's no longer a single source of truth.
Shared spreadsheets in the cloud help, but only partly. They won't stop two people overwriting the same cell, someone deleting a row by accident, or a decision being made on a number that's already out of date.
What it looks like before and after
3. One person holds it all in their head
Every company that runs on spreadsheets has someone who "knows how it works". They know the formulas, which sheet must never be sorted, and why column G sometimes turns red.
When they go on holiday, the company slows down. When they leave for good, you have a problem. A system that only works thanks to one person isn't a system, it's a risk.
4. A report takes half a day
Management wants to know what sold this month, what's in stock and which jobs are running late. The answer exists, but it's spread across five files. Someone has to find them, combine them, check them and send them on.
When the overview is put together by hand once a week or once a month, you're deciding on old numbers. And the time the report costs comes round again and again.
5. Mistakes surface when it's too late
A spreadsheet won't tell you that you entered the wrong quantity, that an order is recorded twice, or that an invoice has been waiting to go out for three weeks. Usually it's the customer who spots the mistake.
A custom system can catch errors as they're entered: check required fields, flag duplicates, remind you of deadlines. It's the difference between fixing mistakes and preventing them.
What it costs you
Try the maths. A sample calculation: three people each spend half an hour a day retyping and looking up data. That's 1.5 hours a day, roughly 30 hours a month. At CZK 400 per hour of work, that's CZK 12,000 a month, or over CZK 140,000 a year just on copying. And that's before counting mistakes and delayed decisions.
What to do about it
Not every sign means you need custom software. Start with the simplest option:
- Tidy up the spreadsheets. One file instead of five, clear rules on who edits what. Sometimes that's enough.
- Try an off-the-shelf tool. For common needs, such as a CRM or task management, good ready-made apps exist.
- A custom system, when your process doesn't fit a ready-made tool, or when you need to connect several things together.
In one sentence
If you recognised yourself in three or more of these, it's time to act. Not because Excel is bad, but because you've outgrown it.