The spreadsheet is a symptom
Most teams do not choose spreadsheets because they are ideal operating systems. They choose them because the real system is missing or too rigid.
A spreadsheet becomes the place where exceptions, calculations, approvals, and memory are forced to live together.
What to inspect before replacing it
Before automation starts, inspect who owns the data, which fields are copied, which formulas are business rules, and which approvals happen outside the file.
If the spreadsheet contains decisions, thresholds, and status logic, the replacement is not a prettier sheet. It is a workflow system.
The automation path
Separate source data, rules, approval states, reporting, and exceptions. Then decide which parts should become forms, dashboards, integrations, or review queues.