When and how to replace a shared spreadsheet with a structured table

More than three people editing the same file, records being duplicated across tabs, important data locked in one person's local copy, or a formula that nobody dares touch — any one of these is a strong signal that a structured table would serve the team better.

Spend time understanding what each column actually represents before rebuilding it. Many spreadsheets accumulate columns that were once useful but are now ignored. Migration is the right moment to clean up the data model, not replicate it exactly.

Trying to migrate everything at once creates disruption and resistance. Pick the most painful spreadsheet first, rebuild it as a structured table, and run both in parallel for two weeks. Once the team trusts the new system, retire the spreadsheet.