Spreadsheets are flexible and familiar, which is why businesses stay on them too long. The signs it is time to move are usually the same: several versions of the truth, numbers that only one person understands, and month-ends that take days.
Signs you have outgrown spreadsheets
- The same order or invoice is typed into more than one file.
- Stock in the sheet does not match the godown.
- Nobody is sure which customers owe what.
- GST data is rebuilt from scratch every month.
Move in this order
- Masters first: items, customers, suppliers, stores and ledger accounts.
- Opening positions: stock per store and batch, and opening balances.
- Daily documents: orders, deliveries, invoices, purchases and payments from a chosen start date.
- Reports last: once the documents are flowing, reports follow from them.
Check before you switch off the old sheets
For the first few weeks, compare stock, receivables and payables between the old sheets and the new system. Differences found early are cheap to fix.