How to Find Data in Company Spreadsheets

The problem with "it's in the spreadsheet"

Almost every business has a phrase that gets repeated: "that's in the spreadsheet." The problem isn't that it's missing — it's that finding it can take anywhere from ten seconds to half an hour, depending on who's asking, what day it is, and whether the one person who knows where to look is on holiday. A piece of data that exists but is hard to find is, in practice, almost the same as not having it at all.

Why Ctrl+F isn't enough

Searching with Ctrl+F works if you know exactly which word to search for and which file it's in. But company data rarely lives in just one place: a product's price might be on the general rate sheet and also on a special rate for one customer; stock might be tracked in the warehouse spreadsheet and out of date in the one sales uses. Ctrl+F finds the word — it doesn't tell you which of the two rows is the right one.

Five places where data usually gets lost

• Several files with almost the same name. "rates_final.xlsx", "rates_final_v2.xlsx": without knowing which is the latest, you end up guessing.
• Hidden tabs or cryptic names. A figure sitting on tab 4 of 7, with a name that doesn't say what's on it.
• Columns that move around. The same data in column C this month and column E next month, because someone inserted a new column.
• The one person who knows is out. Holiday, leave, a change of role — the knowledge of where everything lives sits in one person's head, not in a document.
• An old copy nobody deleted. A file from six months ago that someone opens by mistake and reads an answer that's no longer true.

It isn't just a matter of tidiness

It's tempting to think the problem gets solved by organizing files better: clear names, one single version, fixed columns. That helps, but it isn't enough: tidiness undoes itself over time, because everyone who touches a file does it a little differently, and before long there are several versions and several conventions again. An assistant that reads the file as it actually is, instead of requiring it to be perfect, holds up better as time passes.

How to measure this in your own business

You don't need any tool to know how much this costs you today. Just time it: the next time someone asks "how much stock is left of this?" or "what's the price for this customer?", note how long it takes for a confirmed answer to arrive, from the question to someone being sure of it. Multiply that by how often something similar gets asked in a week, and you'll have a real figure — yours, not a generic one.

The alternative: have something search for you

The way to take that time out of the picture isn't asking everyone to organize their files better (that helps, but it doesn't fix the underlying problem) — it's having something that already knows where each piece of data lives search for you and tell you exactly where it came from. That's what Fold does: an AI assistant that answers with your own company's data.

How Fold does it, step by step

1. It connects to your files. The Excel and CSV files you upload, and, once you sign up, the Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox folders you choose, with read-only access.
2. It learns what each column means. The first time it sees a file, it proposes what each piece of data means, and you confirm it before it's used.
3. It searches and answers with the source. When someone asks a question, Fold looks across every file it knows about and answers with the exact row and file, so it can be checked without searching again.

What it doesn't do: it doesn't guess, and it doesn't choose for you

If the data isn't in any of the files it knows about, Fold says so — "not found" — instead of giving a figure that sounds right but isn't. And if two rows could both be the answer (two rate sheets, two versions of the same data), it shows you both instead of deciding for you: the final call is always yours, with the full picture in front of you.

What changes when someone new joins the team

Another moment where this problem really shows is when someone new joins. Learning where everything lives — which file, which tab, what each column means — is, in practice, part of the onboarding period, and it depends on someone experienced explaining it bit by bit. With Fold, that part doesn't need teaching twice: the new person asks the way they'd ask a colleague, and gets the same answer anyone else on the team would get, with its source in view so it can be checked.

Which businesses this works for

It works for any business whose data is spread across files: an accounting firm with its rates and case files, a transport company with its warehouse spreadsheet, a repair shop with its quotes, a retailer with its catalog. The more files and the more people asking, the more time you'll notice it saves.

Plans and pricing

You start on the free plan, no card required: 2 questions a day, up to 10 a week, enough to try it with your own files. Paid plans run from €49.99 a month (500 questions) to €249.99 a month (10,000 questions), plus tax depending on your company's country. No lock-in.

How to get started

Sign-up and payment inside the app are opening very soon. In the meantime, you can leave your email to be notified, and try Fold with your own files right away, on the free plan.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• An AI assistant for your Excel files
• What Fold can do: capabilities and connections
• Real automation case studies
• Fold plans and pricing