Use Vesence in Excel

Common use cases

Use Vesence in Excel when you want to:

• Check a workbook for inconsistent totals, formulas, dates, labels, or assumptions
• Understand how a formula, table, or output works
• Improve sheet formatting and readability
• Compare figures in a workbook against a contract, term sheet, PDF, email, or another spreadsheet
• Produce an issue list with cell references for follow-up review

What Vesence can use in Excel

In Excel, Vesence works with the workbook you have open.

It can use sheet names, selected cells, ranges, tables, visible text, formulas, and related source material you provide, such as contracts, term sheets, PDFs, emails, or other spreadsheets.

You can ask Vesence to work on a whole workbook, a sheet, a selected range, a formula, or a specific issue such as data consistency or number formatting.

Workspace in Excel

The Excel add-in includes a workspace where you can add documents and other materials as context for Vesence.

Use the workspace when Vesence should consider another document, such as a term sheet, precedent, prior version, template, styleguide, or supporting material.

See: Vesence Workspace for more information.

Edit mode

Edit mode controls how Vesence applies suggested changes to a workbook.

Choose whether Vesence asks before each edit or applies all edits automatically.

• Use ask-before-each-edit when the workbook is sensitive, close to final, or you want to review each change before it is inserted. This mode is useful for legal or financial spreadsheets, negotiated schedules, client-facing workbooks, formulas, assumptions, or any edit where a small change could affect meaning or outputs.
• Use automatic editing when the task is low-risk, repetitive, or mainly mechanical, such as fixing formatting, removing placeholders, applying simple label improvements, adjusting column widths, or making consistent changes across a sheet.

Automatic editing can be faster, but you should still review the result before sending, signing, relying on, or finalizing the workbook.

Tracked changes in Excel

Vesence can make tracked changes in Excel. These changes are only visible to people using Vesence, and only in Vesence on the web.

See: Vesence on the web for more information.

Actions in Excel

Excel includes three prebuilt prompt buttons: Check, Format Sheet, and Explain. You can press one of these buttons to start quickly, or type an example prompt when you want to be more specific.

Check

Check reviews the workbook or selected sheet for spreadsheet quality, consistency, and presentation issues.

Press the Check button when you want Vesence to find possible spreadsheet problems before you rely on the workbook or share it.

Check can cover:

• Data Consistency — mismatched totals, inconsistent dates, conflicting names, different values for the same item, or inconsistent assumptions
• Formula Errors — broken references, suspicious formulas, hardcoded values, calculation errors, or formulas that differ from surrounding cells
• Number Formatting — inconsistent currency, percentages, decimals, dates, negative numbers, or units
• Spelling & Typos — spelling mistakes and typographical errors in labels, headers, notes, assumptions, and descriptions

Example outputs include an issue list with sheet names and cell references, a summary of formula risks, or a list of formatting inconsistencies.

You can also type prompts such as:

• "Check this workbook for inconsistent totals."
• "Check this range for formula errors."
• "Check whether the number formatting is consistent."
• "Check the labels and assumptions for typos."

Format Sheet

Format Sheet improves the visual structure and readability of a spreadsheet.

Press the Format Sheet button when the sheet is hard to read, inconsistently formatted, or needs a more professional presentation.

It can help with clearer headers, readable spacing, better number formats, appropriate column widths, cleaner table presentation, and more consistent visual structure.

Example outputs include cleaner headers, more consistent number formats, adjusted column widths, and a sheet that is easier to review or share.

You can also type prompts such as:

• "Format this sheet so it is easier to review."
• "Clean up the headers and spacing."
• "Apply consistent number formats to this table."
• "Make this schedule presentation-ready."

Explain

Explain helps you understand spreadsheet content.

Press the Explain button when you want Vesence to describe what selected cells, formulas, tables, or workbook logic mean.

It can help you understand how a formula works, what a table shows, how assumptions connect to outputs, why a value appears, and which cells drive a result.

Example outputs include a plain-English formula explanation, a dependency summary, or an explanation of how assumptions drive a result.

You can also type prompts such as:

• "Explain this formula in plain English."
• "What does this table show?"
• "How is this ownership percentage calculated?"
• "Which assumptions drive this output?"

Example workflows

Check workbook quality

Example prompts:

• "Check for inconsistent formulas in this range."
• "Find mismatched totals across the workbook."
• "Check whether dates and names are consistent."

Understand formulas and outputs

Example prompts:

• "Explain how this calculation works."
• "Which cells feed into this total?"
• "Why does this output change when this assumption changes?"

Improve spreadsheet presentation

Example prompts:

• "Format this sheet for review."
• "Make this table easier to read."
• "Clean up the number formatting."

Compare Excel to documents

Example prompts:

• "Compare the purchase price in the agreement to this workbook."
• "List discrepancies between the payment schedule and the contract."
• "Check whether the earn-out figures match the term sheet."

Tips and limits

• Tell Vesence the relevant sheet name and range if you know it.
• Select the relevant cells before asking for an explanation or check.
• Ask for cell references when reviewing numbers.
• Provide the related contract, term sheet, PDF, or email if comparison is needed.
• Specify whether you want a high-level summary or detailed formula review.
• Protected sheets, hidden sheets, external links, unavailable data sources, or unsupported formulas may limit analysis.
• Very complex models may need scoped review by sheet, range, or issue type.
• Critical financial models should still be verified by the responsible reviewer.