The Spreadsheet Macro That Runs the Whole Company (and Why That's Scary)
Every Kenyan company of a certain age has one. A spreadsheet called something like FINAL_master_v7_USE_THIS.xlsm, sitting on one computer, holding a macro that calculates commissions, updates stock, prints invoices and possibly controls the weather. It was built years ago by Njoroge, a gifted self-taught genius who has since moved to a bank in Westlands. This is usually the moment a business starts asking about custom business software in Kenya, though often only after something has gone badly wrong.
Let us be clear: we love spreadsheets, and we respect the Njoroges of the world. That macro probably saved the company in its early days. But a process that was clever at ten employees can be quietly terrifying at sixty.
How the macro took over
Nobody plans for a spreadsheet to run the company. It happens gradually:
Someone builds a sheet to track sales.
Then a formula is added to calculate commission.
Then a button that prints invoices.
Then a tab for stock, another for payroll, and a hidden one nobody has opened since 2021.
Then a macro that ties it all together, written late one night with the help of an online forum.
Each step made sense at the time. The result is a single file that the whole business depends on, that only one person truly understands, and that nobody dares to touch.
The warning signs
How do you know your spreadsheet has crossed the line from helpful tool to business risk? Look for these signs:
Staff are told "Do not touch column AZ" and nobody knows why.
Only one computer can run it, and that computer is getting old and loud.
Two people cannot work on it at once, so someone waits while the other finishes.
When the numbers look wrong, the fix involves calling Njoroge, who now works somewhere else and has started screening your calls.
Copies multiply: one on the desktop, one on a flash disk, one emailed to the director, each slightly different.
If you nodded at three or more, keep reading.
Why it is genuinely scary
The risk is not that spreadsheets are bad. The risk is concentration. One file, one machine, one person. Consider what happens if the laptop is stolen from a car in town, the hard drive fails during a power surge, or someone accidentally sorts one column without the others. There is often no history of changes, no access control and no way to tell who altered which number.
There is a data protection angle too. If that file contains staff salaries, ID numbers or customer phone numbers, Kenya's Data Protection Act 2019 expects you to keep it secure. A spreadsheet emailed around the office as an attachment is not what anyone means by secure.
When custom business software in Kenya makes sense
Not every spreadsheet needs replacing. A quick budget or a one-off analysis is perfectly happy in Excel. Proper business software starts to make sense when:
Several people need to use the data at the same time.
The process runs the business, such as payroll, billing, stock or fees.
You need records of who did what and when.
Mistakes are expensive or embarrassing.
The logic is so complicated that only one person can maintain it.
Sometimes an off-the-shelf product fits, for example HR and payroll through something like OfficeCUBE. Other times your process is unique enough that custom software, built around the way you actually work, is the better fit.
Moving off the macro without drama
The good news is that the old spreadsheet is a fantastic specification. All the business rules are in there, even if they are buried. A sensible migration looks like this: document what the macro does, test the new system against the old results for a month or two, and only then retire the file. Keep a read-only copy for history. Throw a small farewell party if you like. Invite Njoroge. He will be relieved.
If your company has a FINAL_master_v7 of its own, talk to Philsoft about turning it into proper software, or see the kinds of systems we build on our services page. Until then, please make a backup today. Two, in fact. And do not touch column AZ.