Moving a gas delivery business off spreadsheets

Signs it is time

• Only one person really knows how the rounds work.
• Customers ring to ask when the van is coming.
• Invoices go out days or weeks after the delivery.
• Nobody can say quickly how many cylinders are out with customers.
• Drivers' cash is reconciled by hand at the end of the week.

None of these is a crisis on its own. Together they mean the business depends on memory, and memory does not scale.

Gather this first

Before choosing or setting up anything, pull together the information the business runs on. It is usually spread across more places than you expect.

1. Customers. Name, delivery address with postcode, phone and email, billing address if different, payment terms, and the notes drivers rely on, such as a gate code or where the cylinders go.
2. Products and prices. Every cylinder size and gas type you sell, accessories, your standard prices, and any rates agreed with individual customers.
3. Cylinders out. How many of each type every customer holds. This is often the hardest part, and may need a count.
4. Regular deliveries. Who gets what, and how often.
5. Vans and drivers. Registrations, what each van can carry, and which areas each driver usually covers.
6. Money owed. Open invoices and the balance each customer owes on the day you switch.

Clean it before you move it

Moving messy information into new software gives you messy information in new software. Before you bring anything across, look for:

• Duplicates. The same customer under two names, such as "The Kings Head" and "Kings Head pub".
• Missing or wrong postcodes. Planning a round depends on them.
• Prices agreed on the phone and never written down. Confirm them with the customer rather than guessing.
• Customers who have not ordered in years. Decide whether they come across at all.

What to leave behind

Not everything needs to move.

• Old delivery history. Keep your old records safe for reference, for as long as your accountant says you need them, but there is no need to rebuild years of history.
• Closed invoices. These belong in your accounts. Bring across open balances only.
• Workarounds. A lot of what a spreadsheet does exists because it could not do something else. Do not rebuild the workaround.

Pick a switch date

Choose a quieter week and a clear day from which new orders go into the new system. Record what every customer holds and owes on that day, so both sides start from the same figures.

Avoid running both systems side by side for long. A week of checking is sensible. A month of entering everything twice is how mistakes get in.

Bring the drivers in early

Drivers carry more of the business in their heads than anyone. Show them the new way of working before the first day, and ask what they write down now that must not be lost.

In the first week, have the office check each round's results against what the drivers report. Small gaps found early are easy to fix.