Office · Module
Sheets
Spreadsheets connected to governed metrics, with formulas you can describe
Sheets is a spreadsheet that stays consistent with the business: formulas, natural-language formulas and data cleanup, live connections to governed metrics in the semantic layer, and XLSX round-trip. Outputs embed into Docs and Slides.
Numbers that match the dashboard
Sheets is planned for W3 H2 as an add-on, built on the open-source Univer engine. Its job is narrow and useful: spreadsheets whose numbers agree with the rest of the business. Instead of pasting exports, a workbook can pull governed metrics from the semantic layer in BI Studio with refresh, and read permission-trimmed record tables such as a deals list.
The grid people expect
Multiple sheets, cell formatting, Indian number grouping and INR formats, freeze panes, filters, sort, protected ranges, data validation and dropdowns, conditional formatting, find and replace, filter views so one person's filter does not change what everyone sees, and dynamic arrays with spill. The formula engine is planned against a published function-family coverage matrix rather than a vague promise of common functions, and the grid ceiling will be published after load testing.
Dropdowns backed by records
A dropdown can list permission-trimmed records, such as deal stages, GST-registered vendors or active products, instead of a typed list. Templates are planned for budget versus actual, a commission calculator and GST summary layouts; tax logic stays in the Tax Engine.
AI that explains itself
Describe what you want and get a formula with an explanation and a preview. Clean data by detecting types, trimming, removing duplicates, splitting columns and standardising phone numbers to E.164. Ask Sheets to explain a sheet or audit a formula.
Honest about the engine
The plan states openly that Univer's Apache-2.0 packages do not include real-time collaboration, edit history, import and export, charts or pivot tables. These depend on a procurement decision about the commercial tier or a split workload, and that decision gates when Sheets is sellable. Macros stay in Excel; Sheets offers a macro recorder over whitelisted commands and declarative triggers instead, with every effect running as an Action.
Read-only first
Data connections are read-only in W3. Write-back to records through Actions, with a bulk-update preview, is planned for W4. Exports of connected data respect the classification of the source metrics.
Features
What Sheets includes
Workbook and formatting
Multiple sheets, en-IN grouping, INR formats, freeze panes, filters and sort.
Formula engine with coverage matrix
Dependency recalculation against a published per-family function coverage matrix.
Dynamic arrays and named formulas
Spill ranges and LAMBDA and LET-class named formulas for modern models.
Conditional formatting
Rules, colour scales, icon sets and formula-based rules.
Filter views and slicers
Per-user filter state in a shared workbook.
Find and replace
Across a sheet or a whole workbook.
Protected ranges and validation
Protected ranges and sheets, data validation and dropdowns.
Record-backed dropdowns
Allowed values from a permission-trimmed record set such as deal stages or GST-registered vendors.
Semantic-layer connections
Pull governed metrics from BI Studio with refresh, and read-only record tables.
XLSX and CSV round-trip
Import and export measured against a round-trip test set.
Comments and version history
Comment, restore earlier versions and track changes over time.
Templates
Budget versus actual, commission calculator and GST summary layouts.
PDF export
Print setup and PDF export of a workbook as evidence for finance and audit.
Range API
Read and write ranges by API, with webhooks on named-range change.
Workflow
Connect, analyse and publish
- 1
Start from an XLSX import, a blank workbook or a template.
- 2
Connect governed metrics from the semantic layer with permissions applied.
- 3
Use natural-language formulas, cleanup and explain to build the analysis.
- 4
Embed the result as a table in Docs or a chart in Slides, export XLSX or CSV with audit, or share under Drive policy.
AI
AI skills and Digital Employees
Natural-language formulas
Describe a calculation and get a formula with explanation and preview.
Data cleanup
Type detection, trim, dedupe, split columns and E.164 phone standardisation, applied as a new version.
Explain sheet and formula audit
Plain-language explanation of what a sheet or formula does.
Digital Employees that use this module
They act through the same governed Actions as people; risky steps wait for approval.
Frequently asked questions
Will Sheets replace Excel?
Not for macro-heavy or desktop-model estates. Those stay in Excel, and Sheets round-trips XLSX for the rest.
Can Sheets update my CRM?
Not in the first release. Connections are read-only in W3; write-back through Actions with preview is planned for W4.
Does Sheets calculate GST?
Templates provide GST summary layouts only. Tax logic stays in the Finance Tax Engine.
What is still undecided?
Real-time collaboration, history, import and export, charts and pivots depend on a procurement decision about the spreadsheet engine's commercial tier, which the plan names openly.
See Sheets in your workflow
Tell us about your team and the outcomes you want. We will walk you through the apps, the Digital Employees and the plan for your industry.