Case Studies | PropTech

Replacing fragile spreadsheets with a governed data platform

Data Platform Modernisation

About

A PropTech business working with Cloud Combinator on AWS. The client is anonymised at their request.

Challenge

The challenge had three focus areas, each a direct source of risk and lost time.

Fragile links between workbooks

Site workbooks feed the Corporate Model through external-link cell formulas that break whenever a file is renamed or moved. A single broken link can silently corrupt consolidated numbers, and tracing the fault costs analysts hours.

Manual copy-paste of actuals

Actual costs are copied by hand from Sage or NetSuite into Excel. This is slow, error-prone and impossible to audit reliably, so the numbers driving decisions carry avoidable uncertainty.

No scalability or version control

With each of the 20 to 25 live sites kept in its own continuously updated workbook, onboarding a new site means cloning spreadsheets, and multiple local copies reintroduce version chaos. The current approach simply does not scale with the portfolio.

Solution

We structured the work in two phases so the client would feel relief quickly, while a durable foundation was built in parallel. Crucially, analysts stay in Excel throughout.

20-25

Live site models to be consolidated

4-6 wks

Phase 1 stabilisation timeline (projected)

3-6 mths

Phase 2 platform timeline (projected)

By the numbers:

  • 20-25 - Live site models to be consolidated
  • 4-6 wks - Phase 1 stabilisation timeline (projected)
  • 3-6 mths - Phase 2 platform timeline (projected)
Changes

The proposed solution is designed to remove manual entry, surface hidden errors early and make the reporting estate scale cleanly with the portfolio, all while keeping analysts in the familiar Excel workflow. The figures below are proposed estimates from the engagement plan rather than measured results.

  • Manual entry disappears — Data travels straight from the accounting API into Excel and Power BI, replacing hand copy-paste with an one-click refresh.
  • Links that survive change — Power Query imports from a SharePoint source, keyed on file ID rather than path, so renames and moves no longer break consolidation.
  • Hidden errors surface early — Dependency diagrams and warehouse data-quality checks flag issues before they reach a decision.
  • Scalability built in — Onboarding a new site becomes a single row in the Sites dimension, not another cloned workbook.
  • Handover — A master template, rollout playbook and training are proposed so the client's team can extend the approach across the remaining sites themselves.

The phased design lets the client realise quick, low-risk wins in Excel first, then progress to a governed platform that can feed dashboards and future applications as the portfolio grows. These are the intended forward directions set out in the proposal rather than delivered outcomes.

AWS Stack

Azure Data Factory

For nightly ingestion of actuals, budgets and forecasts.

Azure Data Lake Storage

For a cheap, versioned landing zone.

Microsoft Entra ID

For securing Excel and OData connectivity to the platform.

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