OĞUZ EROLAI·ADS·APPS

Move the Work You Run in Excel into a Web App Your Whole Team Uses

9 min read

I turn work you run in Excel or Google Sheets into a custom web application your team uses together. The file stops travelling by email and WhatsApp. The app runs on a server and the records live in one database. Everyone logs in with their own account, sees and edits the fields that belong to their job, and every change is logged with who made it. It works in a browser on a phone or a laptop.

Below are the screens I can build this way, grouped by topic. Each one focuses on a single need; a real project usually combines several of them. I describe the overall process, the server setup and pricing on the Excel to web app page. You can start with the 5-hour package (TRY 10,000 + VAT); the other packages are at the bottom of the page.

Top: three copies of the same orders file travelling by email, WhatsApp and a shared drive, with four problems. Bottom: one database on a server with rules, change history and daily backups, and separate permissions for sales, warehouse, accounting and the manager.
While the file travels from person to person, and once the same records live in one place on a server. Your team works on the same records while each user sees the screens and permissions their role requires.

How we start your custom application

We first review your current spreadsheet and the task that needs the most attention. I identify who enters each piece of information, how calculations work and which steps require approval. The first version focuses on that core workflow, followed by feedback from the people who will use it. This gives us a practical starting point and a clear order for further features.

Mobile and desktop use, data migration, access permissions and update frequency are defined for your project. I can develop applications running on a VPS and connect them to other tools where data access is available. Hosting, maintenance and source-system access are considered at the start.

Could Excel or Google Sheets already meet the need?

Both tools support collaboration, calculations and validation. A custom application becomes worth considering when you need different record access for each user, a multi-step approval process or screens designed for particular roles. Improving the existing spreadsheet may also be the right solution.

Four guides that may help before you decide:

Sample order tracking web app screen. A user with the Warehouse role can't see the unit price and can't enter a delivered quantity above the ordered quantity; they can see that another user is viewing the record and the change history.
Several of the screens below in one place: role-based permissions, a form with rules, people working at the same time and a change log. The companies, people and orders are made up.

Find the workflow you need

User permissions and teamwork

Excel and Google Sheets forms

Expenses, budgets and payments

Inventory, orders and quotes

Operations and reporting

Custom screens for forms, spreadsheets and integrations

These examples cover approval, missing documents, import errors and access rules as well as data entry. Each service page includes an illustrative screen; the actual features are developed within your agreed project scope.

From Google Forms to a custom app

Apps connected to Google Sheets

File imports and scheduled data

Workflows connected to WhatsApp

People and operations apps

Four questions to ask whoever builds your application

When comparing proposals, clarify the following before comparing the price. Here is how I approach them.

Where is the data, and how can I take it with me? Records live in a database and can be exported to Excel or CSV. The server can be opened in your name. Agree the export, handover and source-code terms in writing before work starts.

What exactly belongs in the first version? I prefer one workflow that the team can use properly. Once people use it, we can choose the next improvement from actual needs.

What happens as users increase? Per-user subscriptions can change the cost of a ready-made product. I do not charge a per-user licence for the application I build; hosting, maintenance and any third-party services still need an agreed scope.

What if we need another field later? I work with hour packages. We agree what the change involves and its estimated time before starting.

What should you bring to the first discussion?

You do not need a technical specification. Bring:

  • The file you use today, with confidential details removed or replaced by sample data.
  • A rough description of who enters information and who approves it.
  • The task that consumes the most time each week.

The application discussed here is an internal tool your team signs into to do work. A public website that introduces your business is a different scope.

Frequently Asked Questions

How quickly can you build a custom application?

I begin with the priority workflow and the screens it needs so I can aim for an initial working version quickly. Focusing on one workflow can reduce the time; a larger scope changes the schedule. User roles, calculations, migration and integrations affect the schedule. I share scope and timing after reviewing your current setup.

Do I have to move to an off-the-shelf product?

No. This service is custom application development. Where appropriate, the application can exchange data with your Excel or Google Sheets files. We can also consider an existing product if it already meets your needs.

Where does the app run, and who holds our data?

The app runs on a server (a VPS) and the records live in its database. The server can be opened in your company’s name. The data is yours, and you can export all of it to Excel or CSV at any time.

How many users can we add? Is there a per-user fee?

There is no per-user licence. The running cost is the server’s monthly fee plus upkeep; for a small or mid-sized team, adding users doesn’t change it.

How is the work priced?

I work remotely and bill hourly. I send the scope and an estimate in writing after I’ve seen your spreadsheet.

Let’s review your workflow

Tell me about your spreadsheet and what’s slowing you down via WhatsApp on +90 549 654 64 89 or the contact page, and we’ll plan the first version together. No presentation, no proposal deck; I look at it and tell you what can be built and how long it takes.

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WHAT YOU CAN ASK FOR

How do I work?
Work-hour packages

Tell me about your business and what you need on WhatsApp or by phone; we agree on a work block of somewhere between 5 and 40 hours and I start doing what is needed. What you get is not a calendar window — it is net working hours spent directly on your business. I can use 40 hours working three days straight, or deliberately spread it out and finish it over a year — whatever the work calls for. I do not spend my time estimating how long something will take, I spend it doing the work; every hour I spend leaves a lasting result in your business. We keep going for as long as you find it useful.

WORK BLOCKS

Why not monthly?
Is 40 hours a week?

On a fixed monthly fee both sides are watching the wrong thing: you watch a fixed cost, the other side watches how many more contracts like this they can line up. Working by the hour puts us both in front of the same thing — the real value of the work that got done. I know not having an upfront answer to "how much will this cost in total?" is the natural cost of this model. But instead of paying a fixed fee for months to a setup that is not producing results, you only pay for the qualified time spent on your work — and you see exactly where that time went, start to finish. That is why my clients keep coming back.

5hours300€ + VAT60€ per hourChoose this block
10hours500€ + VAT50€ per hourChoose this block
20hours800€ + VAT40€ per hourChoose this block
40hours1,400€ + VAT35€ per hourChoose this block