The Excel Version Control Guide

Are you an Excel wizard? Or maybe you're a spreadsheet novice. It doesn't matter⁠—there's one thing we can all agree on; version control for spreadsheets is essential, and it's not being used enough!

Using version control for your spreadsheets means that if you mess up a calculation or someone else does, there's always a backup copy to go back to. With version control, changes are recorded and easy to audit.

What is Excel version control?

Version control works by keeping your spreadsheet in a shared system, where all users have access to the same file simultaneously. Whenever you make changes to your spreadsheet, those changes are automatically saved and stored for later use. If another user makes changes to the same sheet before you've made yours, the system will alert you so that you can decide whether or not to accept their changes into the main version of your document.

This means that if something goes wrong with one person's work (a mistake was made or a critical calculation is missing), it doesn't affect everyone else who uses that shared database because everyone has a copy of their own version of this document stored on their computers as well as in this central database called Vault.

Why version control for Excel?

You can use version control to reduce the risk of data loss, increase your team's efficiency and make it easy to review and audit changes. Using a version control system will also enable you to share a single source of truth with other users so that everyone is working from the same set of data.

Excel version control offers the ability to:

• Track the history of your spreadsheet: which changes were made, when they were made, and by whom.
• Revert back to older versions: If you need to start over or undo recent changes to your spreadsheet.
• Share a single source of truth: With other people so that there's no disagreement about what content should go into the spreadsheet (for example, if two people are making edits at the same time)
• Review and audit changes: That have been made to your spreadsheet—for instance, if someone else edited the spreadsheet while you weren't looking.

So how can you start implementing and using version control for your shared Excel files? In this guide, we'll show you how to share a single source of truth spreadsheets with the rest of your team (and even outside the organization!). By the end of this guide, you'll understand how Excel version control works and be able to pick the right solution for your team!