Understand before changing
First we map out what the file does, which formulas and macros are active, and what external links exist — before anything is changed.
Service
Project takeover
The freelancer or former colleague who built your Excel or VBA application has moved on, and no one on the team dares to change the file any more? We take over existing projects, get to grips with them thoroughly, and build on in a controlled way.
Who it's for
A familiar situation
The file still works — until, one day, it doesn't, or a change is needed that no one dares to make. Macros without comments, hidden worksheets, links to files nobody can locate any more: it's one of the most common reasons organisations get in touch with an Excel specialist. Our knowledge article on project takeover explains the risks of an undocumented file in more detail.
Approach
How we handle a takeover
Identifying the risks
Which parts are fragile, which assumptions are hidden inside a formula, and what happens if an input is slightly different from what's expected.
Documenting as we go
Not afterwards, but while the logic is being unpicked — so the know-how doesn't become locked up with one person again.
Building on in a controlled way
Only once the file is properly understood do we build further — keeping what already works well.
First step
It starts with a fixed-scope assessment
The first paid step is an assessment whose scope is agreed in advance. It produces a short document covering three things: what the file does, the risks it contains, and the routes forward, each with a cost estimate. With that document in hand you decide freely whether and how to continue, and stopping after the assessment is a perfectly good outcome.
What drives the cost of a takeover: the size and complexity of the file, how many data sources and integrations it has, and how much of what is already there can be kept. We only put figures to it once we have seen the file.
Frequently asked
Short answers to common questions
Where does a takeover start, and am I committed after that?
It starts with the assessment: a fixed scope, and a short document on what the file does, the risks in it and the routes forward, with a cost estimate for each. What happens next is your decision. The assessment does not commit you to any further work.
Can a takeover be faster with AI assistance than it used to be?
Working through a large, undocumented VBA codebase used to take weeks. AI-assisted analysis and documentation of macros and formulas can speed up that first phase; by how much depends on the file. We check what the AI says about the code before we propose or change anything. See AI-assisted development.
Contact
Go to the contact form
Wondering whether your file is still future-proof?
Briefly describe what you're dealing with, and we'll explain what a takeover would involve. If we want to take a look at the file, we'll agree on a secure way to share it afterwards. The whole takeover can run in English, from the first conversation to the documentation and support.