How long does it really take to move from Excel?
About two weeks in a mid-sized company, from the first day until the whole team works in the new system. It is worth saying where that time goes, because it is not where people expect: loading the data takes hours, not days. What fills the two weeks is cleaning the original spreadsheet and getting people to change their habits.
If you are still deciding whether the switch is worth it, that comparison is in Partners vs Excel for guided tour companies. This article assumes you have already decided and goes straight to the how.
| Days | Phase | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 2 | Clean the spreadsheet | Whoever maintains the sheet today | Nothing is imported yet. Dates, duplicates and formats are fixed. |
| Days 3 to 5 | Load and configure | Office team with the provider’s support | Guides first, then clients and tour operators, and the services last. |
| Days 6 to 10 | Both systems side by side | The whole office team | Work happens in the new system; the spreadsheet is for reference only. |
| Days 11 to 14 | Guides come on board | The guides, one by one | They get their access and start accepting real services. |
How do I prepare my spreadsheet before importing it?
This is where the move is won or lost. Most import problems in our sector come down to the same four issues, and all of them can be fixed before you touch the new software.
Dates that are text, not dates
If a cell says
12/03/2026but sits aligned to the left, it is text. On import it either turns into rubbish or gets read the wrong way round: 12 March in the UK and Ireland, 3 December to a system set up in US format. Select the column, format it as a date, check it aligns to the right, and confirm which date format the importer expects.The same guide written three ways
“Siobhán Byrne”, “Siobhan Byrne” and “S. Byrne” will be imported as three different people, and then someone has to merge them by hand. The rule that works: the email address is the identifier, not the name. One row per unique email.
Merged cells and repeated headers
Cells merged to group by month and header rows repeated every twenty lines break any importer. The sheet that imports cleanly is boring: one header row at the top and flat data underneath.
Amounts in mixed formats
1.200,50and1,200.50side by side in the same column, which is common when rates come from partners in different countries, guarantee totals that do not add up. Use one format throughout and take the € or £ symbol out of the cell.
In what order should the data be loaded?
The order matters, because each block depends on the one before. Loading services before guides means going back over everything afterwards.
- Guides first. With their correct email address, which is what will give them access to their portal later. Add their languages at this stage too: it is what assignment will filter on.
- Then clients and tour operators. They are what each request will point to, along with their usual meeting points and ticket types.
- Services last. By then they can point to a guide and an operator that already exist.
On history: there is no need to load three years of services. The current season and the next one are enough to work with, and the old file stays where it is for reference. Loading the whole history makes the move longer and adds very little.
Can I keep using Excel while I switch?
Yes, and during the first week it is the sensible thing to do. But with one rule that is not up for discussion: decide from day one which of the two is in charge. Normally the new system, with the spreadsheet demoted to read-only reference.
If neither is in charge, you end up with two different versions of the same week and people arguing over which is right, which is worse than not having switched at all. A simple way to make it visible: rename the file to REFERENCE_ONLY_do_not_edit.xlsx on the day the overlap starts.
What should the office do during the overlap week?
The overlap week is where habits change, so give it a routine. Three small rituals keep it on track without adding much work.
- Every new request goes into the new system first. When a tour operator emails a new service, it is created there, even if someone also notes it in the old sheet out of habit.
- A ten-minute check at the end of each day. One person compares tomorrow’s services in both places. Any difference is fixed in the new system and noted, so you learn what the sheet was doing that the new tool is not yet.
- A shared list of questions. Instead of interrupting each other, the team writes down anything unclear and goes through the list with the provider’s support once a day.
By the end of the week the daily check should find nothing to fix. That is your signal to stop updating the spreadsheet altogether.
What if my guides do not want to use another app?
It is the objection you will hear most, and it almost always comes from a misunderstanding: the guide thinks you are giving them more work. In reality you are taking phone calls away.
What works in practice is not explaining the system but showing them their own screen with next week’s services already loaded. As soon as they see their calendar and the accept button, the conversation changes. Three arguments they actually care about:
- They see their services without having to ask anyone on WhatsApp.
- They accept or decline from their phone, without calls or long message threads.
- They see where their invoices stand and upload each one against the services it covers.
It helps a great deal when the guide’s access is free and works in the phone’s browser without installing anything. In Partners the guide portal is free and can also be added to the home screen like an app. Start with two or three guides you trust, let them use it for a week and ask them to tell the others: a colleague’s opinion carries more weight than yours.
What should you set up before the guides join?
The first impression a guide gets is the first service they receive. If it arrives with the wrong meeting point or no operator reference, they will go straight back to asking you on WhatsApp. Before inviting anyone, check that:
- Your usual meeting points are saved, so nobody types “main entrance” in five different ways.
- Each guide’s rates are set up, so the amount they see matches what they expect to invoice.
- The services for their first week are loaded and assigned, so they have something real to accept.
- Someone in the office knows they will be the contact for questions during that first week.
How do I know the move has gone well?
By three signs, all of which you can check at the end of the second week. First: nobody in the office has opened the spreadsheet for three days. Second: next week’s services are all assigned and confirmed by the guides, without anyone having to phone round. And third, the one that really matters: month-end close is a matter of reviewing rather than rebuilding.
If in the second week people are still going back to the spreadsheet, it is not a problem with the tool: there is some piece of configuration the sheet handled and the new system does not yet. It is worth finding before you call the move finished.