The migration playbook 802.software uses to move legacy VB.NET, COBOL, and PHP3 platforms onto modern stacks without downtime, lost data, or vendor lock-in.
Internal tools that replace the spreadsheet running your business
The spreadsheet that runs the business, turned into software the whole team can use, with exports that match how the books are already kept.
Our approach
Most businesses run on a spreadsheet that one person understands. It works until that person is on holiday, two people edit it at once, or the accountant asks for a report it was never built to produce. An internal tool keeps what works about the spreadsheet and removes the risk.
We start from the way your team already works. If the spreadsheet is the source of truth, the first version can read from it while the new system earns trust, so nobody has to change everything on day one.
What is included
- Process mapping
- A walk through how the work really happens today, including the exceptions nobody wrote down.
- Data model
- A database designed around your records, so reports and exports come straight out of it.
- Imports and integrations
- Reading from the spreadsheets, PDFs and services you already use, with duplicates caught before they are saved.
- Screens for each role
- Simple views for the people who enter data and fuller views for the people who manage it.
- Reports and exports
- CSV and PDF exports in the format your accountant or partners already expect.
- Access control
- Sign-in, roles and an audit trail of who changed what and when.
Who it is for
- Owner-run businesses whose operations live in shared spreadsheets.
- Teams re-typing the same information from PDFs, emails and forms.
- Managers who need reports that today take an afternoon to assemble.
How the work runs
Built with Next.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Google Sheets API and PDF parsing.
01
Map
Sit with the people who do the work and map the process, the data and the exceptions.
02
First tool
Build the smallest tool that removes the most re-typing, usually within weeks.
03
Expand
Add reports, roles and integrations once the first tool is part of daily work.
04
Look after
Keep it running, backed up and up to date as the business changes.
Examples
Case studies where this was the main job.
Questions
Can the new tool keep using our spreadsheet?
Yes. MD Motors reads the dealer’s existing Google Sheet as its input, so the team kept working the way they knew while the new system took over the re-typing.
How long does a first internal tool take?
It depends on the process, but the first useful version is scoped to be small. We agree the timeline in the written scope before work starts.
Who can see the data?
Only the people you give accounts to. The tool sits behind a sign-in, and roles control who can view, edit and export.
Do you work on site?
For businesses in Vermont and around New England we can meet in person to map the process. Everyone else works with us remotely.
Read next
- Strangler-fig migrations without losing a transaction
Other services: Web applications and SaaS, Mobile apps for iPhone and Android, Modernizing older software
Tell us what you are building.
A few lines about the project and when it needs to ship is enough to start.