Everyone Has a Different Version of the Same Spreadsheet

You get one source of truth by taking the data out of files altogether. In a database application there is exactly one copy of each record. Everyone works on that copy through their browser, changes appear for everyone at once, and the system records who changed what. Shared drives and cloud spreadsheets reduce the copying, but as long as the data lives in a file, the file can be copied.

Signs this is your problem

• File names contain words like FINAL, NEW, v2 or someone’s initials.
• Meetings begin with an argument about whose numbers are right.
• Someone’s job is merging other people’s copies.
• A decision was made from a file that turned out to be out of date.
• Nobody is sure which copy the customer was quoted from.

Why versions multiply

• People save copies to be safe. “Orders FINAL v3 (Mike’s edits).xlsx” is someone being careful.
• Files are emailed. Every attachment is a new version the moment it is opened and changed.
• Only one person can really work at a time. So others take a copy and plan to merge later.
• Departments keep their own. Sales has its list, operations has its list, and each is “the real one”.
• Nothing says which is current. A file name and a modified date are all anyone has to go on.

Why shared and cloud spreadsheets only half fix it

Putting the workbook online lets several people type at once, and that helps. It does not stop anyone downloading a copy, sorting a column and scrambling the rows, overwriting a formula, or pasting last month’s figures over this month’s. There is still no rule about what may be entered, and no reliable record of what the number was before someone changed it.

What one source of truth actually means

• One record per thing. One customer, one order, one job, each stored once.
• Everyone sees the same data the moment it changes, filtered to what their role needs.
• Entries are checked. The system refuses a date that makes no sense or an order with no customer.
• History is kept. Who changed it, when, and what it said before.
• Reports come from the live data, so two managers cannot arrive at a meeting with two answers.

How Keene Systems handles it

1. We find every copy and what each one is used for. The differences between them usually reveal the real process.
2. We design one database that serves all of those uses. With a view for each group, so nobody loses what they had.
3. We reconcile and import the data. Conflicts are resolved once, with your people deciding which value is right.
4. We switch everyone to the application. And the copies stop.

The next step is a short, no-pressure conversation. Book a call with Lance Keene or use the form on this page.