A workbook handover often includes one instruction along the lines of “copy the tab, but leave column H alone”. Column H may hold a calculation, a manual correction and the explanation for an odd March result. That is a good place to start a dashboard project.
Pick one report and sit with its owner while they prepare the next edition. Which extract do they download? Which row needs correcting every month? Which figure does the manager check before the meeting? Those answers give the first delivery a practical scope.
Separate the jobs the workbook does
Watch the report owner run a normal update. Record the steps between the extract and the final figure, including anything that happens in an email or on a scrap of paper. Look at earlier months. A formula used in April may have meant something different before a reorganisation in January.
| Workbook item | Question for the owner | Place in the new process |
|---|---|---|
| Finance system extract | Which control report goes with this particular extract? | A dated source that can be reproduced |
| Manually amended total | Who authorises it, and when does the change expire? | A recorded adjustment with an amount, period, reason and owner |
| Note explaining a variance | Who should be able to read and edit it? | A comment linked to the metric, site and period |
Run both reports on the same input and explain differences
Freeze a copy of the signed-off workbook and retain its original extract. Give the dashboard the same input. Reconcile the group total, each site and at least one recurring exception. Also compare a period while it is open so that late records and corrections are tested.
Suppose the spreadsheet and dashboard both show SEK 480,000 in orders. In the dashboard, North is SEK 12,000 too high and South the same amount too low. A salesperson moved regions in April, and the new model has attributed a March order to their current region. Agree which region should own that order and test a transfer across the month boundary.
Log the amount, cause and decision for each difference. Sometimes the spreadsheet used an outdated rule and the new result should be different. Give the report owner an explanation they can use the first time someone compares the dashboard with last month's pack.
Give comments and old versions a home
A note saying “two deliveries moved into June” can be more useful to a reader than another chart. Attach it to a stable metric, site and period key. A row number in a sorted extract will not survive the next refresh. If the dashboard has a wider audience than the workbook, agree who can see the comments.
Have the owner update a note, correct an error and retrieve an earlier period before you switch over. Agree who handles a late import and when the old file becomes a read-only reference. A workbook can still be the right place for an exploratory calculation or a one-off scenario.
Common questions
Do all our spreadsheets need to move at once?
Start with one report that takes repeat work every cycle. Keep workbooks that serve budget assumptions or ad hoc analysis well. Define how approved values from them will feed the published report.
When can we retire the old report?
When the owner has checked the agreed periods and exceptions, explained remaining differences and tried the new operating routine. Define how previous published figures can be retrieved and who signs off the switch.