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Making the Switch from Excel to Worksheet
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We love Excel - that's why we built Worksheet to look and feel just like it. Learn why moving to Worksheet is a smooth transition that adds immediate value for modern R&D.
R&D labs have long relied on Excel for its familiarity and flexibility – after all, we’ve used it for decades.
But Excel wasn’t built for chemical R&D, and it’s no longer the best option for documenting innovation in the age of digitalization and AI.
As teams grow and data complexity increases, Excel’s siloed files and lack of standardization are slowing down product development. Albert’s Worksheet was built by scientists, for scientists, and offers the best of both worlds: the ease and adaptability of Excel combined with the structure and integration necessitated by modern R&D.
Excel: Easy to use, difficult to scale
Excel files live in isolation, tucked away on local drives or buried in shared folders, resulting in fragmented data that traps valuable knowledge into siloes. At best, a scientist wastes precious time one afternoon tracing performance back to a specific lot of raw material. At worst, a company fails to scale insights and cannot keep up with the growth of its competitors.
Beyond fragmentation, Excel’s lack of structure makes it difficult to produce clean, AI-ready data. Each user can choose their own naming convention and depth of detail, causing errors to slip through and important context to be lost. Version history and audit trails are also limited, increasing compliance and IP risks.
Attempts to apply AI to the unstructured, nonstandard data produced by a company of Excel users have met with limited success. Although AI can alleviate some of the searchability issues experienced with siloed Excel files, using unstructured Excel data for things like formulation optimization inevitably results in hallucinations. To establish an AI layer that can’t hallucinate and that works across teams for any experiment, structured data is the only option.
The best of both worlds with Worksheet
Unlike other spreadsheets, Albert Worksheet was designed by scientists, for scientists – blending an Excel-like interface with the structure and rigor that today’s chemical R&D demands.
While Worksheet includes the same design and cell-based formulas as Excel, it creates a structured database behind the scenes so that data is always AI-ready.
Structured and AI-ready. With over 390 built-in functions and intuitive, cell-based formulas, using Worksheet feels a lot like using Excel. Behind the scenes, though, every entry connects to a structured database that creates a digital thread throughout the R&D process – weaving together formulas, performance data, lot-level raw material information, and more. This connected foundation sets the stage for accelerating R&D with analytics and AI/ML.
Behind the scenes, though, every entry connects to a structured database that creates a digital thread throughout the R&D process – weaving together formulas, performance data, lot-level raw material information, and more.
Real-time integration. Worksheet also grounds experiments in reality, integrating with Inventory to provide real-time information on hazards, pricing, and compliance to restricted substance lists as a new formula is being designed. When the formula is ready to be made and tested, Worksheet also integrates with Tasks, allowing scientists to directly generate experiment tasks and track results within the same spreadsheet. As the formulation is made in the lab, inventory amounts of the consumed materials are automatically updated. The full workflow and real-time information are at every chemist’s nitrile-gloved fingertips.
Reduced administrative burdens. While scientists expect to spend their days trying new experiments in the lab, the reality is that a large fraction of their time goes towards administrative tasks. Worksheet takes some of this burden away, offering templates and nested formulas to speed up formulation. It also includes role-based access control, versioning, and audit trails to ensure all IP and compliance needs are met.
In short, Worksheet transforms a simple spreadsheet from an isolated tool to an integrated, intelligent part of the R&D process – helping teams scale ideas faster, reduce risk, and build a foundation for AI-driven discovery.
Worksheet integrates with Inventory and provides real-time information during formulation, such as hazards or compliance to restricted substance lists (RSLs).
The seamless transition from Excel to Worksheet
Driving digital change in R&D doesn’t have to be disruptive – it’s about designing digital tools that work seamlessly with existing lab workflows. Worksheet lowers the barrier to change because it was built to feel familiar to anyone who is used to Excel: the same look, the same logic and formulas, but with the added structure and traceability modern labs demand.
Right away, scientists can see the impact in their day-to-day work from quick wins like automated SDS generation or the immediate creation of a new inventory item when a new formula column is made. With the support of scientists from Albert who have lived through their own R&D digital transformations, the value of Worksheet only continues to grow as more data becomes centralized.
The switch works with – not against – scientists, providing tangible wins up front, the foundation for compounding value, and the ability to unlock the promise of AI.
R&D labs have long relied on Excel for its familiarity and flexibility – after all, we’ve used it for decades.
But Excel wasn’t built for chemical R&D, and it’s no longer the best option for documenting innovation in the age of digitalization and AI.
As teams grow and data complexity increases, Excel’s siloed files and lack of standardization are slowing down product development. Albert’s Worksheet was built by scientists, for scientists, and offers the best of both worlds: the ease and adaptability of Excel combined with the structure and integration necessitated by modern R&D.
Excel: Easy to use, difficult to scale
Excel files live in isolation, tucked away on local drives or buried in shared folders, resulting in fragmented data that traps valuable knowledge into siloes. At best, a scientist wastes precious time one afternoon tracing performance back to a specific lot of raw material. At worst, a company fails to scale insights and cannot keep up with the growth of its competitors.
Beyond fragmentation, Excel’s lack of structure makes it difficult to produce clean, AI-ready data. Each user can choose their own naming convention and depth of detail, causing errors to slip through and important context to be lost. Version history and audit trails are also limited, increasing compliance and IP risks.
Attempts to apply AI to the unstructured, nonstandard data produced by a company of Excel users have met with limited success. Although AI can alleviate some of the searchability issues experienced with siloed Excel files, using unstructured Excel data for things like formulation optimization inevitably results in hallucinations. To establish an AI layer that can’t hallucinate and that works across teams for any experiment, structured data is the only option.
The best of both worlds with Worksheet
Unlike other spreadsheets, Albert Worksheet was designed by scientists, for scientists – blending an Excel-like interface with the structure and rigor that today’s chemical R&D demands.
While Worksheet includes the same design and cell-based formulas as Excel, it creates a structured database behind the scenes so that data is always AI-ready.
Structured and AI-ready. With over 390 built-in functions and intuitive, cell-based formulas, using Worksheet feels a lot like using Excel. Behind the scenes, though, every entry connects to a structured database that creates a digital thread throughout the R&D process – weaving together formulas, performance data, lot-level raw material information, and more. This connected foundation sets the stage for accelerating R&D with analytics and AI/ML.
Behind the scenes, though, every entry connects to a structured database that creates a digital thread throughout the R&D process – weaving together formulas, performance data, lot-level raw material information, and more.
Real-time integration. Worksheet also grounds experiments in reality, integrating with Inventory to provide real-time information on hazards, pricing, and compliance to restricted substance lists as a new formula is being designed. When the formula is ready to be made and tested, Worksheet also integrates with Tasks, allowing scientists to directly generate experiment tasks and track results within the same spreadsheet. As the formulation is made in the lab, inventory amounts of the consumed materials are automatically updated. The full workflow and real-time information are at every chemist’s nitrile-gloved fingertips.
Reduced administrative burdens. While scientists expect to spend their days trying new experiments in the lab, the reality is that a large fraction of their time goes towards administrative tasks. Worksheet takes some of this burden away, offering templates and nested formulas to speed up formulation. It also includes role-based access control, versioning, and audit trails to ensure all IP and compliance needs are met.
In short, Worksheet transforms a simple spreadsheet from an isolated tool to an integrated, intelligent part of the R&D process – helping teams scale ideas faster, reduce risk, and build a foundation for AI-driven discovery.
Worksheet integrates with Inventory and provides real-time information during formulation, such as hazards or compliance to restricted substance lists (RSLs).
The seamless transition from Excel to Worksheet
Driving digital change in R&D doesn’t have to be disruptive – it’s about designing digital tools that work seamlessly with existing lab workflows. Worksheet lowers the barrier to change because it was built to feel familiar to anyone who is used to Excel: the same look, the same logic and formulas, but with the added structure and traceability modern labs demand.
Right away, scientists can see the impact in their day-to-day work from quick wins like automated SDS generation or the immediate creation of a new inventory item when a new formula column is made. With the support of scientists from Albert who have lived through their own R&D digital transformations, the value of Worksheet only continues to grow as more data becomes centralized.
The switch works with – not against – scientists, providing tangible wins up front, the foundation for compounding value, and the ability to unlock the promise of AI.