Replacing shared Excel files with an application

Almost every company has an Excel file that has become critical: a schedule, order tracking, a production sheet, a price list, case tracking. It is shared, edited by several people, and everyone knows it is fragile. The license costs next to nothing; what costs money is the time spent around the file. Here is how to put a number on that cost, compare it with a custom app over 3 years, and know when to keep Excel.

What Excel really costs

Excel is part of Microsoft 365. Public prices checked in October 2026 on Microsoft’s French page for Microsoft 365 Business Standard, per user per month, excluding VAT:

You pay for these licenses anyway, for email and office tools. Replacing a shared file with an app does not remove them. The useful calculation is therefore about something else: time and errors.

The hidden cost of a shared file

A shared Excel file generates four types of cost that are rarely measured:

1. Re-entry: the same data is typed into the file, then into the ERP, the CRM or invoicing.
2. Checking: someone checks every week that formulas have not been overwritten and rows are complete.
3. Competing versions: “tracking_v3_final_JM.xlsx” circulates by email, and nobody knows which one is current.
4. Errors: a badly copied cell, a forgotten filter, a row deleted by mistake, and an order goes out at the wrong price.

None of these costs appear in an IT budget, but they are paid every week in salaries.

The 3-year calculation

An illustrative example, with made-up amounts to replace with your own: 10 people each spend 2 hours a week entering, checking or consolidating data around the file, at a fully loaded hourly cost of €35, over 45 working weeks a year. Cautious assumption: the app removes half of that time, not all of it. App at $13,500 (€12,000)excl. VAT, plus €2,000 a year for hosting and maintenance. Microsoft 365 licenses are the same in both scenarios and are not counted.

In this example, the app saves about €29,000 over 3 years once its own cost is deducted. With 3 people at 1 hour a week, the math no longer works: the time saved does not pay back the investment. That is exactly why you need to run the numbers with your own figures. The method is detailed in the ROI of a business tool.

When to keep Excel

Excel is still the right tool if:

• the file is used by one or two people, with no concurrent editing;
• it is used for analysis or modeling, not to run a process;
• the need is occasional or changes every time;
• an error has no consequence for a customer, an order or a payment;
• the only problem is multiplying copies: co-authoring in Microsoft 365 may be enough.

In these cases, an app would cost more than it brings back. I would rather tell you before the quote.

What the app adds

The guide on turning an Excel file into an app covers the technical steps.

Where to start

1. Pick the most critical file: the one where an error costs the most.
2. Measure the time spent around it over two weeks, per person.
3. A 30-minute call to check that the numbers justify a business app.
4. Scoping (1 to 2 weeks): the file becomes a requirements document, with a fixed quote.
5. Mockups, development in batches, data migration, then three months of support included.

Indicative budget: $6,800 to $22,400 (€6,000–€20,000)excl. VAT depending on the building blocks. The estimator gives you a range in one minute.