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How to turn paper forms into a spreadsheet

Give each paper form one row in a spreadsheet and each field on the form one column. List the fields first, use the same format every time, and check a small sample before you type the rest. Here are the five steps.

The five steps

1. Gather one of each form. Decide which fields you actually use and ignore the rest.
2. List the fields. Each one becomes a column, with a short, clear heading.
3. One row per form. Every filled-in form is a single row, never a new tab or a new block.
4. Pick one format for dates, names and yes/no answers, and use it every time.
5. Type or scan a small sample first, then check it against the paper before you do the rest.

A starter column list

Most paper forms can start from these columns. Rename and drop what you don't need.

• Date
• Customer or client name
• Job or order number
• Item or description
• Quantity
• Amount
• Entered by
• Notes
• Source (which paper form or page it came from)

Mistakes to avoid

• Merged cells and blank rows used as spacing, which break sorting and totals.
• Mixing date formats (3/4/25 in one row, March 4 in the next).
• Typing notes into a number column.
• No unique number per row, so you can't tell two similar entries apart.
• A new tab for every month or every person instead of one table.

Would you rather not type it all in?

Our Paper Forms to Spreadsheet tool types your forms into an .xlsx file, flags every cell it can't read with confidence, and someone from our team reviews every order before it's sent. It's opening soon.

Common questions