Spreadsheets are one of the most useful tools a business has. Most reporting starts in one, and that’s fine. The trouble starts when a spreadsheet built for a quick answer becomes the way the business is run every month.
These are the signs it has happened.
1. One person is the only one who can update it
If the monthly report depends on one person’s knowledge of which tabs to paste into, the business has a single point of failure. Holidays and resignations become reporting problems.
2. It takes days to produce
When building the report takes longer than reading it, the effort is going into the wrong place. Copying and pasting exports is work a computer should do.
3. There are several versions in circulation
“Final”, “final v2” and “final (Sarah’s edits)” in an inbox means nobody can be sure which numbers are current.
4. Nobody can explain where a number came from
If a figure is questioned and the answer involves tracing formulas across five sheets, the report can’t be trusted for important decisions.
5. It’s slow, or it breaks
Large files that take minutes to open, or that break when a row is added, are a sign the data has outgrown the tool.
What to do next
You don’t need to replace everything at once. Start with the report that causes the most pain. Connect it directly to the systems the data comes from, define the key figures once, and set it to refresh automatically. Keep spreadsheets for what they are good at: quick, one-off analysis.
If two or more of these sound familiar, we can look at your current reporting and tell you which report to move first. Book a free consultation.