"Key processes run on spreadsheets and e-mail"
Lemur Media · author: Dominik Dębski · updated 28.10.2026
Processes based on spreadsheets and e-mail work as long as the same people run them at a small scale. As the company grows, errors, delays and manual reconciliations multiply, and it loses visibility of the status of orders, jobs and settlements. The solution is a process map with handling costs and the selection of 2–3 processes to streamline and automate in order of value.
What are the symptoms?
- Only one person, who keeps the master spreadsheet, knows the status of orders, jobs or settlements.
- The same file circulates by e-mail in several versions, and teams argue over which one is current.
- Closing the month or preparing a report takes several days of manually re-entering data.
- The absence of one person halts invoicing, shipping or production planning.
What are the causes?
- 01Processes built for a smaller scaleA spreadsheet was the quickest solution when it handled a few dozen transactions a month, and nobody replaced it later.
- 02No process ownerThe process runs through several departments, and each is responsible only for its own part.
- 03Unintegrated systemsThe accounting system, online shop or ERP do not exchange data, so spreadsheets connect them manually.
| Headcount | Typical picture |
|---|---|
| 1–49 employees | The whole company runs on a few shared spreadsheets, and knowledge of their logic sits in the heads of two or three people. |
| 50–249 employees | Departments already have specialist systems, but hand-offs between them happen via e-mail and file exports. |
What questions should the board ask?
- Which processes will stop if the person who keeps the spreadsheet is absent tomorrow?
- How many hours a month do teams spend re-entering and reconciling data between files and systems?
- What share of errors in orders, invoices or shipments comes from manual data transfer?
Which metrics should you check?
- Process lead time from order to close
- Hours of manual work per month to run the process
- Share of transactions requiring correction
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- Buying an ERP system before describing the processes it is meant to support.
- Automating the process as it is, with all its workarounds.
How does the solution work?
Methods: Lemur OS + Data Value Chain. Lemur Compass sets the sequence of actions based on the company's development phase, scale, business model and profitability.
- 01Process mapA list of spreadsheet-based processes with owner, number of transactions, handling time and cost of errors.
- 02Process selection2–3 processes with the highest cost and risk are chosen to be streamlined first.
- 03Target process designA simplified flow, a single data source and clear hand-offs between departments.
- 04Choosing tools and automationIntegration of existing systems or a low-code tool, matched to scale and budget.
Where should you start?
Map of processes and the cost of manual work (2 weeks), with a recommendation of the first processes to automate.