Making the spreadsheet an active part of the business.
Connecting an Excel workflow to incoming messages and regular checks, so updates and follow-ups become part of the process.
The starting point
The customer manages sales, contractors and projects in Excel. Updates arrive in messages, rows fall behind and items sit in a pipeline stage without prompting a follow-up.
With the automation
Relevant messages trigger spreadsheet updates, alongside regular checks for stale records and reminders to the people who need to act.
The business runs on a spreadsheet.
A lot of business still runs on Excel and Google Sheets. A spreadsheet can be a familiar, tried and tested way to manage work, even when dedicated CRMs and project systems are available.
For this customer, Excel holds the sales pipeline, contractor coordination and project tracking. The system works for the team. The difficulty is keeping it current when the latest information arrives somewhere else.
The email changes. The spreadsheet falls behind.
A message can change the next step in a project without anyone updating the corresponding row. A deal can sit in the same pipeline stage long enough to need attention, while the person who should follow up gets no reminder.
These gaps create work in both directions: someone has to move information into the sheet, then keep checking the sheet to see what needs to happen.
Bring relevant messages into the spreadsheet.
The automation runs on a regular schedule, several times a day. It checks for emails and messages associated with the processes tracked in the spreadsheet.
ChatGPT connects relevant updates to the corresponding records and updates the sheet. The work centres on the customer’s existing processes and spreadsheet structure, so the team can keep using the system they know.
Let the spreadsheet prompt the next action.
The other half of the workflow regularly checks the sheet itself. It looks for stale information, items that have spent too long in a pipeline stage and follow-ups that need attention.
The automation reminds the relevant people when action is needed. The spreadsheet becomes a source of ongoing work, instead of a record that only changes when someone remembers to open it.
Keep the system. Make it more useful.
The workflow connects incoming information and outgoing follow-up around a system that already works for the customer.
AI can support a company’s own way of working. Here, that means making the spreadsheet active, while keeping the familiar structure at the centre of the process.
Make your spreadsheet part of the workflow.
Tell me where the work gets stuck. We’ll look at what a useful first step could be for your team.