Excel, VBA & Office automation
Keep Excel. Lose the busywork.
A lot of businesses run on Excel. The problem is rarely Excel itself. It's the copy and paste, the fragile macros and the manual checks. I automate that work so it runs reliably and other people can understand it.
What I do
Fix inherited VBA
I read the code, write down what it does, and fix the weak spots: hard-coded paths and sheet names, swallowed errors, steps that only work if you click in the right order.
Automate the manual steps
Imports from exports, CSV files or databases, the formatting and checks, and the output at the end: PDFs, emails, documents.
Build proper add-ins
When macros outgrow one workbook, a C# VSTO add-in with a ribbon, forms, validation and an installer, versioned like real software.
Connect Excel to real data
Read data straight from SQL Server or other systems instead of pasting exports, and write results back where it makes sense.
Office beyond Excel
Word documents and Outlook emails generated from your data with consistent templates.
When Excel is the right tool, and when it isn’t
| Situation | What usually makes sense |
|---|---|
| Your team knows Excel and the logic changes often | Keep Excel, automate and harden the workbook |
| The automation lives in one workbook used by a few people | Well-written VBA is fine |
| Many workbooks or people need the same tool | A VSTO add-in, installed and versioned properly |
| The work should happen without anyone opening Excel | A scheduled .NET job that produces the file |
| Several people edit the file at once, or it has become the database | Move the data to a database and keep Excel as the front end |
I recommend the simplest option that will still hold up a year from now. Sometimes that is just a better formula, and I’ll say so.
How an Excel project usually goes
Walk through it
You show me how the work is done today, workarounds included.
Read what exists
I review and document the formulas, macros and data sources first.
Agree the scope
A written proposal: what changes, what stays, what it costs.
Build and check
Every change is tested on real examples you approve.
Hand over
The working file or add-in, notes on how to change it, and a walkthrough.
Questions about this
Can you work on a workbook someone else built?
Yes, that's the usual case. Before changing anything, I read what's there and write down how it works.
Does our Excel version matter?
It can, especially for macros and add-ins. Tell me which versions your team uses and I'll check them during scoping.
Our spreadsheets contain confidential data. How does that work?
We agree how files are shared before you send any. For a first conversation, a description of the workbook or a sample with dummy data is enough. If you need an NDA first, we can sign one.
Do you also work with Google Sheets?
My focus is Microsoft Excel and Office. If your process is in Google Sheets, write anyway and I'll tell you honestly whether I can help.