How do I move my business off spreadsheets?
July 14, 2026 1 min read
Import the spreadsheet as-is, run both in parallel for one full cycle, then switch. Do not clean the data first — the mess in it is the requirements document.
Why the mess matters
Every workaround in that spreadsheet is a rule nobody wrote down: the customer with two rows because they pay in two currencies, the negative quantity that means a return, the column somebody renamed in March. Clean it before you migrate and you delete the evidence of how the business actually runs.
We import it dirty, show you what refused to import, and each of those refusals turns into a five-minute conversation that would otherwise have been a six-week surprise.
Running in parallel
One full cycle — a month if you close monthly — with both systems live. It costs two weeks of double entry and it is the only thing that catches the report that does not reconcile.
Set the switch-off date before you start. Parallel running with no end date becomes permanent, and then you have two systems forever.
What to keep from the spreadsheet
The file, untouched, forever. Somebody will ask what a number was in 2023 and the answer will not be in the new system.
