The spreadsheet nobody owns
Every business has one. It runs something important. Nobody wrote it. Everybody's a bit scared of it.
By Teresa · 18 June 2026 · 4 min
It's usually called something like Master Copy v3. It has a tab nobody understands, a formula that references a file on a laptop that left the business in 2021, and a colour code that only one person can explain.
The temptation is to replace it immediately. We've learned not to. The spreadsheet exists because it does something the real system couldn't, and the interesting part is always what that something is.
Questions worth asking before you delete it
- -Who opens it, and how often?
- -What decision gets made because of it?
- -What would go wrong tomorrow if it vanished tonight?
Nine times out of ten it's holding a bit of process the software refuses to model. Once you know that, replacing it is straightforward. Until you know it, you're just moving the problem into a nicer interface.
If this is a bit close to home, you might recognise some of the things we've built or the tools we tend to reach for.