What a configuration could hand over
That file does not have to disappear. The configurator takes over its rates and its rules, so the calculation on the web and the calculation in the office produce the same number. The difference is that one of them can be run by the customer, at midnight.
Price list table
Rates and surcharges kept as an Excel table could be read by the configurator through Microsoft Graph, provided the workbook sits in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint.
Named ranges
Size limits and coefficients can carry their own names in the workbook. The configurator would read those names rather than cell addresses, so a shifted row would not break the link.
Workbook calculation
Graph allows a temporary session in which inputs are filled in and the result read back without saving changes to the file. Whether that is fast enough for a website is tested on your own workbook.
Enquiries table
A submitted configuration can be added as a new table row in a separate workbook, with the contact, dimensions, options, price and the link to the 3D preview.
What we need to connect it
Access would run through an app registered in your Microsoft Entra ID with the Files.ReadWrite permission, which your Microsoft 365 administrator approves.
The workbook has to be .xlsx on business storage; Graph supports neither the older .xls format nor personal OneDrive.
Before connecting, we go through the workbook together and decide which sheets and tables are the source and which are only scratch work.
Testing happens on a copy of the workbook, never on the file the office works in every day.
Worth deciding up front
- A workbook that grew for years often mixes inputs, calculation and notes on one sheet. Before connecting it, it pays to separate what the configurator should read from the working area.
- Values in the tables may change, table and column names may not. Everyone who edits the file should know that rule.
- If the price list exists today in several copies of the file, a connection only makes sense once you name the one that counts.
Questions about this connection
Do we have to move Excel to the cloud?
If the configurator is to read the workbook continuously, yes: Graph works with workbooks in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint. A file on a local drive could only be taken over once, during implementation.
What if our price calculation depends on macros?
We go through the macro logic during implementation and rewrite it as configurator rules. We would not build the website price on running macros.
How do we know the website and the office calculate the same?
Before launch, selected configurations are priced in the workbook and in the configurator and the results compared. Any difference is resolved before customers see a price.
Other integrations
Put Microsoft Excel to work in your sales.
Tell us what you sell and how an enquiry is handled today. On the demo you will see the configurator, and we will go through which data could flow from it into your system.