Spreadsheets are excellent tools. The problem starts when they become the database, workflow engine, approval system and reporting layer at the same time.
Spreadsheets are often the correct starting point. They are flexible, familiar and inexpensive. The question is not whether spreadsheets are good or bad. It is whether the operating model has become too complex for a file-based workflow.
Repeated entry, conflicting versions, slow reconciliation and poor visibility are stronger signals than company size alone. A five-person company can have complex workflows, while a fifty-person company can still run a simple process.
Document the workflow first: who creates information, who approves it, what needs to be tracked and which reports matter. Then compare three options: improve the spreadsheet process, adopt an existing SaaS product, or build a custom system where the workflow is genuinely distinctive.
A systems assessment should produce a problem map and a short list of modules, not a predetermined software sale. TWE includes a Business Systems Assessment for that purpose.