Replace Excel with a web app when the spreadsheet has become the system.
The pricing workbook with 40 tabs, the Google Sheet that runs scheduling, the tracker everyone emails around as v12_FINAL - turned into a web app with sign-in, roles, approvals, an audit trail and connections to the systems around it. Formulas become tested rules, and history comes with you.
Reply within one business day · Written scope and fixed price before any work starts
A fixed-scope service with published price bands - not a SaaS product.
Status as of November 2026. How we label products
Tabs
41
Formula cells
18,206
Business rules found
37
Broken / pasted-over
214 cells
Findings
| Tab | What it does | Edited by | Issue | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quote Calc | List price, discount tiers, margin | 9 people | Margin pasted as values in 112 rows | Rule lost |
| Freight | Zone surcharge lookup | Ops (2) | Hard-coded 2023 rates | Confirm rates |
| Approvals | Typed "OK" + initials | Managers | No record of who approved | Needs workflow |
| Old_Promo_2022 | Expired promotion | Nobody | Still referenced by 3 formulas | Remove reference |
Rules written up for sign-off
- Discount above 12% needs sales managerApprovals tab, by convention
- Northeast adds 4% freight under $20kFreight!D4:D19
- Margin floor 22% for distributorsLost in 112 rows
Historical quotes replayed
6,480
Identical results
6,402
Differences explained
78
Unexplained
0
Differences
| Rule | Quotes | Cause | Owner decision | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margin floor | 61 | Spreadsheet cells pasted over | App rule is correct | Accepted |
| Freight surcharge | 14 | Rounding (sheet rounded per line) | Round per order | Accepted |
| Volume tier | 3 | Tier edge at exactly 500 units | Inclusive at 500 | Accepted |
| Promo code | 0 | - | - | No differences |
Rows migrated
48,912
Periods reconciled
36 / 36
Duplicates merged
1,204
Parallel run
Week 2 of 3
Checks by year
| Period | Spreadsheet total | App total | Difference | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 quoted value | $14,206,880 | $14,206,880 | $0 | Pass |
| FY2025 quoted value | $16,918,402 | $16,918,402 | $0 | Pass |
| FY2026 YTD quoted value | $13,775,190 | $13,775,190 | $0 | Pass |
| Quote count (all years) | 49,104 | 47,900 + 1,204 merged | 0 | Pass |
In short
Agenbord Migrate for spreadsheets is a fixed-scope service that replaces business-critical Excel workbooks and Google Sheets with a purpose-built web app. We document the workbook's formulas and hidden rules, design the data model, rebuild it with roles, approvals, an audit trail and integrations, migrate the history and reconcile the numbers against the spreadsheet before cut-over. It is a service programme with published price bands.
What slows business-critical spreadsheets down today.
Someone overwrote the formula, and nobody noticed for a month
A rep pastes values over the margin column on the pricing sheet. Quotes go out 8% low until month-end, and there's no record of who changed what or when.
Approvals happen in email, the spreadsheet doesn't know
Discounts, overtime, purchase requests and credit limits get approved by reply-all. The sheet says "approved" because someone typed it, and the auditor wants evidence nobody can produce.
Everyone has their own copy
Ops works from Monday's download, finance from Wednesday's, and the field team from a screenshot. Every meeting starts with whose numbers are right, and the data never reaches the CRM or accounting system without someone retyping it.
How the work flows through the system.
Each workflow runs on one shared record, so nobody re-types numbers between steps.
Workbook audit
Process owner → Agenbord → daily users
- We map every tab, named range, formula chain, lookup, macro and Apps Script, and which cells people actually type into.
- We interview the people who use it and list the decisions the sheet supports, who makes them and who approves them.
- Hidden rules ("if the region is Northeast, add 4% freight unless the order is over $20k") are written up in plain English for sign-off.
- We identify the systems around it - CRM, accounting, email, forms - and which numbers move between them by hand today.
Data model and history migration
Agenbord → process owner
- Rows and tabs become proper records (orders, jobs, people, products) with relationships, validation and required fields.
- Merged cells, free-text dates, color-coded status and duplicate rows are cleaned with rules the owner approves.
- Historical rows are migrated so reports and year-on-year comparisons still work.
- Totals and counts from the new app are reconciled against the spreadsheet for every period migrated.
Roles, approvals and cut-over
Users → approvers → owner
- Each role gets the screens and fields it needs; sensitive columns (costs, salaries, margins) are hidden from roles that shouldn't see them.
- Approval steps are built in with thresholds, delegates and reminders, and every decision is recorded.
- Formulas become tested server-side rules, and integrations replace the copy-paste into other systems.
- Users run both for an agreed period; then the spreadsheet is made read-only and archived.
What's included in Agenbord Migrate: Spreadsheets to Web App.
Workbook audit
Every tab, formula chain, lookup, macro and Apps Script documented, with the hidden rules written in plain English.
Data model
Proper records with relationships, validation and required fields instead of rows and colors.
Roles and field-level access
Sign-in with Microsoft 365 or Google, roles per screen, and hidden columns for sensitive data.
Approval workflows
Thresholds, delegates, reminders and a recorded decision for every approval.
Audit trail
Who changed which value, when, and what it was before - for every record.
Rules engine
Spreadsheet formulas rebuilt as tested rules, with the same results on the same inputs.
Integrations
Push and pull with QuickBooks, your CRM, email and forms through their APIs, instead of retyping.
Excel export and import
One-click exports for people who still want to analyze in Excel, without the export becoming the system.
History and reconciliation
Past rows migrated and reconciled period by period against the original workbook.
AI that does specific jobs and shows its work.
Every AI feature is tested on your own records before it's switched on, and a person approves anything that moves money or goes to a customer.
Formula and script explanation
Reads formula chains, VBA macros and Apps Script and drafts a plain-English explanation of each calculation and its inputs. Limits: explanations are checked by our engineer and confirmed by the process owner, and we prove the rebuilt rules by running both versions on the same historical inputs and comparing results.
Who it's for and who it isn't.
A good fit if you are
- Teams running pricing, scheduling, inventory, commissions or compliance tracking on a shared spreadsheet
- Workbooks edited by 5+ people where overwrites, broken formulas and version confusion cost real time
- Processes that need approvals, an audit trail or restricted access that a sheet can't enforce
- Spreadsheets that someone re-keys into QuickBooks, a CRM or an ERP every week
Probably not the right fit if you are
- Analysis and modeling workbooks used by one or two analysts - Excel is the right tool for that
- Processes a packaged product already covers well - we'll name it rather than rebuild it
- Spreadsheets still changing shape every week - settle the process first, then build
Designed around the rules you work under.
Plain-English notes, not legal advice. Software supports your compliance process; it doesn't replace your attorney, CPA or compliance lead.
If you are covered by the FTC Safeguards Rule
Non-bank financial institutions under the FTC's Safeguards Rule - for example tax preparers, mortgage brokers and auto dealers that finance - must control access to customer information, use multi-factor authentication and monitor user activity (16 CFR 314.4). A shared spreadsheet makes those hard to show; the web app is designed to support them with sign-in, roles, MFA and an audit log. FTC - Safeguards Rule: what your business needs to know.
What exists today and what's being built.
Runs in production today
Capabilities of the engine this edition is built on.
- Fixed-scope programme: assessment, data mapping, test migrations, reconciliation, cut-over and hypercare
- Web, desktop and mobile apps with role-based access and approvals, as used in our production engines
What this edition adds
In development with design partners.
- Workbook audit template and formula-dependency mapping
- Reusable app starter with roles, approvals, audit trail and Excel export
- Side-by-side rule testing harness (spreadsheet vs. app results)
Connects to the systems you already run.
Systems we integrate with
Named platforms are examples we build against through their public APIs - not partnership claims.
How it compares - honestly.
Established products are often the right answer. Here's when each one is the better choice.
| Product | What it is | The better choice when |
|---|---|---|
| Airtable | A spreadsheet-database hybrid with views, forms, automations and interfaces that teams build themselves. | The process is simple to moderately complex, a capable team member will own it, and per-seat pricing works at your size. |
| Smartsheet | A work management platform with a spreadsheet-like grid, approvals, dashboards and project features. | The spreadsheet is really a project or task tracker, and you want a familiar grid with workflow and reporting on top. |
| Microsoft Power Apps | Microsoft's low-code app builder, connected to Excel, SharePoint, Dataverse and the rest of Microsoft 365. | You are a Microsoft 365 shop with someone who can maintain low-code apps, and the logic is not too heavy. |
What it costs, up front.
Spreadsheet replacements are fixed-price after an assessment. Price depends on the number of tabs and formulas that carry business rules, the roles and approval steps, the integrations, and how much history to migrate.
Assessment
From $2.5k
Workbook audit, rules written up, data model sketch, a build-or-buy recommendation (including Airtable or Smartsheet if they fit) and a fixed quote.
1–2 weeks
Standard replacement
$10k–$40k
One workbook or sheet replaced by a web app with roles, approvals, audit trail, one or two integrations and history migrated and reconciled.
4–10 weeks
Complex replacement
$40k+
Several linked workbooks, heavy calculation logic, several integrations, external users or a mobile app for the field.
Phased
Business-critical spreadsheets: common questions.
When is a spreadsheet good enough?
When one or two people use it, it supports analysis rather than daily operations, and a mistake is cheap. It's time to replace it when many people edit it, approvals or access control matter, or someone re-keys its data into other systems every week.
Why not Airtable or Smartsheet?
Often they are the right answer, and our assessment will say so. A custom web app wins when the calculation logic is heavy, when you need tight integration with accounting or a CRM, when external users need access, or when per-seat pricing gets expensive at your size.
Can people still use Excel?
Yes, for analysis. Every list exports to Excel in one click, and some imports (like a price list update) can come in from Excel with validation. The difference is that the app, not a file, is the source of truth.
How do we know the app calculates the same way?
We replay your historical data through the new rules and compare every result with the spreadsheet. Each difference is explained - usually a pasted-over formula or a rounding choice - and the process owner decides which behavior is correct.
We use Google Sheets with Apps Script. Same process?
Yes. Apps Script is read and documented the same way as Excel macros, and Google Workspace sign-in can carry over so people use the same accounts.
Who owns the app?
You do: source code, database and documentation, hosted in your cloud account or ours under a support plan.
Sources
- FTC - Safeguards Rule: what your business needs to know
- Microsoft - Excel specifications and limits
- Airtable - product overview
Regulatory notes are plain-English summaries, not legal advice.
Service programme
Get a fixed price for your migration.
Tell us what you're moving from and to. We'll reply within one business day with next steps for an assessment and a written, fixed quote.
Other editions of Agenbord Migrate.
Access & FoxPro databases
Agenbord Migrate: Microsoft Access & FoxPro
Fixed-price Access and FoxPro migration from $10k: tables, forms, queries and VBA rebuilt as a secure web app with roles, remote access and reconciled data.
View productMicrosoft Dynamics GP users
Agenbord Migrate: Dynamics GP
Plan a Dynamics GP replacement before Dec 31, 2029: Business Central, Acumatica, Sage Intacct or custom, with data migrated and reconciled. Fixed price from $10k.
View productQuickBooks Desktop users
Agenbord Migrate: QuickBooks Desktop
Fixed-price QuickBooks Desktop migration from $10k: to QuickBooks Online, an industry ERP or a custom system, with mapped data and reconciled balances.
View productGuides and services for this decision.
Buyer's guides
Related services
Industries
Looking for a different industry? Browse all products.
