Why the order of repair matters
Most troubled workbooks have more than one problem, and fixing them in the wrong order makes the next fix harder. The collection linked here sets out the order and the reason for it: stale calculation and formula errors first, then layout, then numbers and dates, then duplicates, then import readiness.
What Excel's own documentation settles
Microsoft documents that Excel does not sort a column that contains merged cells, that a PivotTable source needs one header row and one kind of data per column, that dates are stored as serial numbers in one of two systems 1,462 days apart and that Excel stores 15 digits of precision, which is why the ROUND function exists. These are reasons to check, not claims about any particular workbook, and the guides cite each page.
The fixed-scope jobs
One workbook's formulas can be repaired against check cases you calculate yourself, as a fixed £195 job. One merged-cell report can be flattened with a reconciliation, from £145. Mixed dates and numbers in one file can be normalised with every ambiguous row listed, from £125. One product, parts, asset or company list with no personal data can be de-duplicated with a merge log and review file, from £195; lists of people are not covered. Quotation batches from your price list start from £495, and a standing report pack from your export starts from £295 a month, by proposal. A set of up to eight workbooks can be made import-ready as a project from £1,500. All prices are untested proposals, one-off payment follows agreed checks and your sign-off, and the standing service is billed monthly under terms you agree first.
- Not covered: macros, add-ins, live data connections, tax or accounting advice, deciding which figures are right, and workbooks that hold personal data.
- The first enquiry never includes workbooks; send a description, counts and invented examples. No upload portal exists yet, and a secure way to hand the files over is agreed in writing before any file moves.
Sources and limits
- Create a PivotTable to analyze worksheet data (Microsoft Support) Checked 2026-10-11.
- Source data should have one header row, no merged cells, no blank rows or columns and one type of data per column.
- Find merged cells (Microsoft Support) Checked 2026-10-11.
- Excel does not sort data in a column that contains merged cells.
- Date systems in Excel (Microsoft Support) Checked 2026-10-11.
- The 1900 and 1904 systems differ by 1,462 days; July 5, 2011 is 40729 and 39267.
- Floating-point arithmetic may give inaccurate result in Excel (Microsoft Learn) Checked 2026-10-11.
- Excel stores 15 digits of precision and offers the ROUND function to compensate for rounding errors.