SPREADSHEETS, RE-ENGINEERED
BETASpreadsheet in front. Database behind.
A full grid with 300+ formulas and AI in any cell — on a database the rest of Methodical reads and writes.
Beta · Early access by invitation · Data stored in India
=AI("classify issue and severity", B2)| # | A · Received | B · Complaint as received | C · =AI("classify issue and severity", B2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 Sep | "Carton arrived damaged, two units short" | Damaged in transit · 2 units short · High |
| 2 | 12 Sep | "பெட்டி சேதமடைந்து வந்தது, இரண்டு யூனிட்கள் குறைவு" | Damaged in transit · 2 units short · High |
WHAT IT REPLACES
The spreadsheet that quietly became a system
Every company has one: a sheet that started as a quick list and is now what operations runs on. Smart Tables keeps the grid and adds what the sheet never had.
| Desktop spreadsheet | No-code database | Smart Tables | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet formulas | Yes | Partial, own syntax | 300+ |
| Several people editing at once | Conflicts and versions | Yes | Yes |
| Large tables | Limited by the file | Capped by plan | Built for millions of rows (Beta) |
| Where the data sits | In a file | In the vendor's database | In a database, in India |
| Changes start work elsewhere | Macros | Add-ons | Switchboard, built in |
| AI in a cell | Add-ons | Add-ons | =AI(), built in |
| Talks to outside systems | No | API | Switchboard, both ways |
CAPABILITIES
What makes a table more than a sheet.
=AI("prompt") in any cell
Type =AI("summarise these complaints by region") into a cell and the answer appears there. In any language your team writes in.
300+ formulas
VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, XLOOKUP, and the maths, date, financial and text functions your team already uses.
One set of records
The table your team edits is the same one Switchboard and Boards read and write. No exports, no copies.
USE CASES
What teams keep in Smart Tables
Price lists and rate cards
SKU × region × channel pricing, with the lookup formulas your team already knows. When a price row changes, the sales team is told.
Spares and consumables
Stock counts against reorder levels. When a count drops below its level, a purchase request appears on Procurement's board.
Complaint log
Complaints pasted in as they arrive, in any language. =AI() classifies issue and severity in the next column; high-severity rows become tasks for the quality team.
Vendor register
One row per vendor, with contacts, terms and documents in Drive. A date formula flags certificates about to expire.
Invoices into rows
Drop invoices and delivery challans into Drive. Document Intelligence writes the line items into a table, ready to check against the purchase order.
Product catalogue in Indian languages
English descriptions in one column; =AI() writes Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions beside them.
ONE DATA MODEL
How Smart Tables connects to the rest of Methodical
A table isn't a copy of your data exported for analysis. Switchboard and Boards read and write the same rows your team edits.
01 · EVENTS — Switchboard listens
Rows inserted, updated or deleted; tables created, changed or removed. Any of them can start a Switchboard rule, and the rule decides what matters — "if stock is below the reorder level", say.
02 · ACTIONS — Switchboard writes
Any rule can add a row or update one — whether it was started by a board, another table, or an event from an outside system.
03 · DOCUMENTS — Drive
Document Intelligence reads invoices and delivery challans and writes the line items into rows.
FOR DEVELOPERS
Six events, two actions
Every table event is available to Switchboard. Every Switchboard rule can write to a table. Outside systems come in and go out through Switchboard.
EVENTS RecordInserted · RecordUpdated · RecordDeleted
TableCreated · TableUpdated · TableDeleted
ACTIONS InsertRecord table, fields
UpdateRecord table, record, fieldsHOW IT FITS TOGETHER
Two walkthroughs
A reorder, start to finish
- Stores updates a count: bearing 6205, 4 left, reorder level 10.
- The Status formula changes to
REORDER. - The update is an event. A Switchboard rule checks: stock below reorder level? Yes.
- A purchase request appears on Procurement's board, linked to the row.
- Procurement marks it received. Switchboard writes back to the row: stock 24, status OK.
A complaint, triaged in the next column
- A complaint is pasted in, in Tamil.
=AI()writes: Damaged in transit · 2 units short · High.- Severity is High, so Switchboard creates a task on the quality team's board.
ROADMAP HONESTY
Limits and honest commitments
Formulas & =AI()
BETAThe formula library and cell AI are live. We're still testing all 300+ formulas against desktop behaviour — if one gives a different answer from your spreadsheet, tell us.
Large tables
BETABuilt to hold millions of rows. We're still testing at that scale.
Importing spreadsheets
LIMITImported sheets arrive as values. Formulas need re-entering.
Views
LIMITSmart Tables is a grid. For kanban, use Boards.
EARLY ACCESS
Smart Tables is included with Methodical apps. Standalone access is by invitation.
Bring the sheet your team runs on.
We'll show you what it looks like as a table — and what it can start.
Beta · Early access by invitation · Data stored in India