Replacing Excel solutions
Replace Excel with custom software. Step by step, with no cut-over date.
Many companies run their most important workflow with an Excel list or an old Access database. That is not a mistake: the spreadsheet was quick to set up and worked for a long time. At some point it costs more than it saves. Then we move it into a web application with permissions, history and interfaces, without your business standing still for a single day.
- OrderPlanning_2026.xlsxJanuary
- OrderPlanning_2026_v2.xlsxMarch
- OrderPlanning_2026_v2_MK.xlsxMarch, by email
- OrderPlanning_2026_final.xlsxJune
- OrderPlanning_2026_final_NEW.xlsxcurrently open by …
01 — Signs
When Excel reaches its limits. Six situations you probably recognise.
None of them is a drama on its own. Together they cost hours every week, and the risk grows with every copy.
01
Several versions by email
The list goes around as an attachment and everyone adds their column. In the end someone asks which file is the current one.
02
Macros only one person understands
Grown over the years, documented nowhere. When that colleague is on holiday, the month-end close has to wait.
03
No permissions, no history
Anyone who can open the file can change everything. Who changed what and when can no longer be traced.
04
Retyping into other systems
Figures from the spreadsheet end up by hand in the ERP, in accounting or in a quote. Every transfer is a source of errors.
05
Errors when merging
Several versions are copied together. Rows shift, formulas point to nothing, and it is only noticed weeks later.
06
The file is currently locked
Someone has it open, everyone else waits or makes a copy. That is how the next version begins.
More on this, with everyday examples: How to tell that your Excel solution should be replaced.
02 — What takes its place
Replacing Excel with software: a web application that knows your list.
The application reproduces what your spreadsheet does today and closes the gaps your people have been working around. It runs in the browser, without installation.
- Data state
- Today in Excel: Several files, nobody knows for sure which one is current.
- In the web application: One data basis. Everyone works on the same state, at the same time.
- Permissions
- Today in Excel: Whoever has the file can change everything.
- In the web application: Roles determine who can view, who can change and who approves.
- History
- Today in Excel: Overwritten is overwritten.
- In the web application: Every change traceable with person and time, as an audit trail.
- Data entry
- Today in Excel: Typing errors are noticed at the month-end close.
- In the web application: Mandatory fields and plausibility checks right at the point of entry.
- Other systems
- Today in Excel: Figures are retyped.
- In the web application: Interfaces pass the data on to the ERP, accounting or the shop.
- Existing data
- Today in Excel: Years of data, spread across files.
- In the web application: Are migrated, cleaned and checked before anyone switches.
- Reporting
- Today in Excel: Everyone builds their own pivot table.
- In the web application: The export to Excel remains, for reports the way you are used to them.
An Excel list as a web application is a typical first project. What else we build, from customer portals to the modernisation of legacy systems, is described under Having custom software developed. For Access databases there is a separate page: Replace Access.
03 — Approach
Step by step instead of a cut-over date. The spreadsheet keeps running until the application works.
The riskiest moment of any replacement is the day of the switch. That is why, with us, it does not exist as a single day.
- 01together
Understand the current state
We look at the spreadsheet with the people who work with it every day. Which columns are mandatory, what do the macros calculate, where is work corrected by hand? The file often holds more expertise than any documentation.
- 02AI-assisted
Data model and core process
Columns become data fields with rules, habits become a clear workflow. We build the part that is needed every day first, not all special cases at once.
- 03by you
First version alongside the spreadsheet
The application runs next to the Excel list, with your real data. Your people compare, find gaps, and we make improvements. Nobody has to switch on a cut-over date.
- 04by you
Switch once it works
Only when the new application holds up in daily use is the spreadsheet retired. After that we continue developing what comes up in operation, or your IT takes over.
04 — When Excel should stay
Not every spreadsheet has to go. Some should stay as they are.
Excel is an excellent tool. It only becomes a problem when a spreadsheet has to model a process it was never meant for.
Keep it in Excel if …
- The list is used by one person or a small team, and a mistake has no major consequences.
- It is about reports and quick calculations. That is what Excel is made for, and it is hard to beat.
- The workflow still changes every week. Then settle the workflow first and build afterwards.
- A standard product exists that covers exactly this workflow, such as time tracking or leave planning. Then buying is cheaper than building.
Sometimes a tidy spreadsheet with sheet protection and a clear owner is enough. We will tell you if that is the case.
05 — Why it turns out smaller than expected
In the past, replacement failed on the cost estimate. With AI-assisted development the numbers add up differently.
A project for a spreadsheet that “actually works” was rarely easy to justify. Today implementation and testing are AI-assisted, and in our projects the effort is often between one third and one fifth of classical estimates.
A patent management firm in Munich
75
days estimated without AI assistance
9
days actually needed
A business application in which we have a stake ourselves
310
person-days estimated the classic way
140–160
hours actually worked
Not a client reference: our managing director has a stake in this product, which is why it appears here without a name.
What does not get smaller
The time your specialists need for the analysis and for checking the first version. It cannot be automated, and it decides whether the application works in daily use. How building and testing with agents work is described under AI-assisted software development.
06 — References
For corporations and mid-sized companies. What clients say about working with us.
From projects for
- Carl Zeiss
- SAP
- Munich Re
- atra.consulting
We have been working with Viewconic for many years. The quality is impressive, deadlines are always met, and the team regularly brings innovative suggestions that make our processes even more efficient. A collaboration between equals that we can recommend without reservation.
Philipp KieningerCarl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbHDavid from Viewconic stands out for outstanding quality of results and an agile way of thinking that lets us deliver even demanding client projects efficiently and with focus. The team works professionally, is solution-oriented and always brings the right mix of expertise and flexibility.
Daniel WochnikKey Account Manager, atra.consulting GmbH & Co. KGViewconic successfully developed our platform with several consultants and supported us through to go-live. The quality and reliability of the team convinced us, and we already know that we will gladly rely on Viewconic again for our next project.
PAM Consulting GmbHP. MuellerManaging Director, PAM Consulting GmbH
Translated from the German original.
Frequently asked questions
Replacing Excel: what should be clarified beforehand.
Can our existing Excel data be migrated?
Yes. We import the existing spreadsheets into the new data model and check what does not fit together: duplicate entries, inconsistent spellings, empty mandatory fields. What cannot be resolved automatically is decided by your specialists. Only when the migrated data is correct does anyone switch.
Can we still export to Excel?
Yes. For reports, Excel is a good tool, and we will not take it away from you. The difference: the export is a copy for analysis, and the application remains the leading data basis.
Do you also replace Access databases?
Yes, the approach is the same. With Access the data model is usually already clearer, but more logic sits in forms and queries. We capture those first so that the new application calculates the same as the old one. More on this on the page “Replace Access”.
What does it cost to replace an Excel solution with software?
That depends on how many workflows, roles and interfaces are tied to the spreadsheet and how clean the data is. After the intro call you receive an outline with effort and milestones. With AI-assisted development, the effort in our experience is often between one third and one fifth of classical estimates.
How long do the spreadsheet and the new application run in parallel?
Until the application works in daily use. Your people decide that, not a project plan. Usually the core process is stable early, and the special cases are added in the weeks after. A hard cut-over date on which the spreadsheet is switched off is not necessary.
Next step
Show us the spreadsheet. You get an honest assessment, even if it is: Excel is enough.
In the intro call you share your screen or send a copy beforehand without confidential content. Afterwards you know whether replacing it is worthwhile.
Thirty minutes with David Kreutzer, Managing Director. Afterwards you receive a written outline with approach, effort and milestones before you sign anything. We usually reply to enquiries on the same working day.
From projects for Carl Zeiss, SAP, Munich Re and atra.consulting.