What happens in the first call?

30 minutes. You explain your situation, I ask questions. No pitch, no pressure. If we're not a fit, I'll tell you.

What does a project cost?

Projects start from €10,000. For more complex projects, we begin with an analysis phase (from €2,500), which is credited toward the project. This gives you a binding price and me a clear picture. Consulting is billed on a daily basis (€1,800/day).

How long does a project take?

4-8 weeks typically. Complex platforms: 2-3 months. Realistic timeline upfront, delivered.

What if the project doesn't work out?

Fixed price means: the risk is on me. You pay for results, not my time. If something doesn't work, we fix it.

Can you maintain the software afterwards?

Yes. Many clients keep me for ongoing maintenance. Or I hand over everything documented to your team.

What if we're not a fit?

The first call is free. If I'm not the right person, I'll tell you and recommend someone who might be.

Who owns the code in the end?

You. 100%. You receive the full source code and all associated rights. No monthly license fees, no vendor lock-in. You stay legally and technically independent.

What about data security?

I develop using 'Privacy by Design' principles. Hosting is in Germany (Hetzner Cloud), fully GDPR-compliant. During system integration, I prioritize encrypted interfaces and minimal data retention.

Replacing Excel with Custom Software: When is it worth the switch?

You have 47 Excel files. One of them is named CustomerList_FINAL_v3_new_CURRENT.xlsx.

Sounds familiar? Then you're in the right place.

The real problem isn't Excel

Excel is a good tool. Too good. It solves problems so quickly that nobody asks if it's the right tool.

A sales rep needs an overview of their leads? Five minutes, done. The boss wants a report? Another table. Accounting needs access? "I'll send you the file."

Three years later: 47 files in 12 folders. The process is business-critical. Nobody dares to change anything.

Excel hides processes instead of making them visible. In real software, you see: order comes in, is checked, approved, executed, completed. In Excel, everything is a row. Whether something is "in progress" is in column G. Or in Mr. Smith's head.

If Mr. Smith leaves, chaos ensues.

"But we already use Google Sheets"

Cloud spreadsheets solve the versioning problem. Everyone works on the same file. That's progress.

What they don't solve:

Validation. Sheets accepts any value. Negative revenue, date in a text field, typos in customer names. Everything goes through.

Workflows. An order needs to be checked and approved. In Sheets, that's a "Status" column that anyone can change. "Approved" vs "approved"? Good luck filtering.

Permissions. Access to the North region but not the South? Not possible. The solution? Another file. And so you end up back at 47 tables, just in the cloud.

Scaling. With 5 people, the sheet works. With 15, it gets messy. With 30, it breaks. It's not the technology that fails, but spreadsheets don't enforce structure.

If your sheets work: stay with them. But if you're struggling with the following problems despite being in the cloud, the tool isn't the problem. You've reached the limit of what spreadsheets can do.

Five signs that Excel is no longer enough

1. You don't trust your own numbers.

Before every report to management, the question: Is this correct? Do we have all sources? Is this the current version? You double-check samples even though you don't have the time.

2. Your employees are data clerks instead of specialists.

Copying data from System A to Excel. From Excel to System B. Fixing formulas. Formatting cells. Ask your people how much time they spend on "Excel stuff." The answer won't please you.

3. Knowledge is in heads, not in the system.

Only Mrs. Miller knows that column K must remain empty for new customers, except for framework agreements. When Mrs. Miller is on vacation, someone calls her three times a day.

4. You discover errors only at the customer's end.

A wrong number in a formula. A value that should be "0" but is empty. Excel validates nothing. It takes every value. Whether it makes sense, you only realize when the customer complains.

5. Your growth is hampered by the process.

You could take on more orders, but your processes can't keep up. Every new employee needs weeks to understand "how things work here." What worked with 10 people no longer works with 25.

What a replacement brings

A real estate company I worked with (see full case study). Selling apartments as capital investments through external consultants.

The situation before:

Reservations in Excel, communication via WhatsApp, documents in nested Dropbox folders
One employee was mainly busy maintaining documents and coordinating consultants
Commissions were calculated manually. Transfers went to wrong IBANs because customers had provided multiple accounts
Nobody knew at a glance which apartment was currently reserved, sold, or still free

The system today:

One place for everything: reservations, documents, commissions, notary appointments
Multi-stage approval workflow so nothing slips through
Automatic commission calculation, no more manual errors
Consultants only see what they should see. Customers receive their documents via link.

Project duration: 8 weeks. Fixed price.

The math for your case

Calculate for yourself:

Step 1: Ask every employee who works with Excel: "How many hours per week for data maintenance, searching, copying, correcting errors?" Expect 15-40 hours total.

Step 2: Count the real costs. Not just salary, but employer costs (Gross × 1.5). At 3,500 Euro gross: approx. 30 Euro per hour.

Step 3: 20 hours × 30 Euro × 50 weeks = 30,000 Euro per year.

A typical Excel replacement project: 8,000-25,000 Euro. Running costs: under 100 Euro a month.

With a 15,000 Euro project and 30,000 Euro annual costs for the status quo: Amortization in 6 months.

What the calculation doesn't capture: Errors that cost customers. Frustrated employees. Decisions based on wrong numbers. Transfers to the wrong IBAN.

And the biggest item: The growth that doesn't happen. Orders you have to turn down. Employees you don't hire because training would be too complex. Customers who don't return because reaction time was too long.

That's revenue you're not making.

How a project works

Initial consultation (30 min, free): You show what you have. I'll honestly say if a custom solution makes sense. Sometimes the answer is: stay with Excel. Or: there's standard software that fits.
Fixed-price proposal: Concrete number for a concrete scope. The risk is on me.
Development (4-12 weeks): Weekly updates. No radio silence.
Rollout: Training, support in the first weeks.

When you should stay with Excel

Your team is manageable. With 2-5 employees, spreadsheets work. Communication channels are short, everyone knows what the other is doing. The overhead of custom software doesn't pay off yet.

Your process is still constantly changing. Software reflects processes. If you're still experimenting, Excel is more flexible.

There's standard software that fits. For accounting, CRM, project management, there are established tools. If one of them covers 80% of your needs: take it. The remaining 20%? They can often be solved through integrations or small extensions. I help with that too.

Next Step

You have an Excel problem that's costing you money. Or worse: costing you growth.

30 minutes. You explain the situation, I ask questions. No pitch.

Book an appointment