Your spreadsheet is already a database. Give it one owner and one tab of inputs.
Plenty of small operations run on one spreadsheet that grew a layer at a time. It prices jobs, plans routes or tracks stock. It works because the person who built it knows which cells are safe to touch. When that person is away, nobody dares to change anything.
Before you reach for an app, fix the structure. A spreadsheet that separates what goes in from what is calculated is already close to a small database, and it can be checked by someone who did not build it.
The aim is that a second person can open it, see where each number came from, and tell whether the answer is believable.
What to do
- Name one owner. That person decides what changes and when.
- Move every typed-in number to a single tab called Inputs. One row per input.
- Beside each input, add a source (invoice, quote, meter reading) and the date it was set.
- Make every other tab formulas only. No typed numbers hiding inside formulas.
- Lock the formula cells. Leave the Inputs tab open for edits.
- Ask a second person to change one input and predict what moves. If they can, the model is checkable.
When not to
Do not move to an app while only a handful of people enter data in a week. An app adds logins, hosting and upkeep, and it solves a problem you may not have. Graduate when many people are entering data at the same time, or when you need a history of who changed what that the spreadsheet cannot give you.