Education
Export FF&E schedule
Export an FF&E schedule from organised product boards without rebuilding the sheet by hand. Price at save, refresh on demand, hand off cleanly.
The Aalto teamUpdated
A schedule is often the document other people still expect. The board is where you decide. The export is how you hand off.
This guide covers one job. Export an FF&E schedule from your product board without rebuilding the sheet by hand.
What the spreadsheet workflow looks like today
Selections mature in tabs, screenshots and email. Near the end, someone builds a clean schedule. They retype names. They chase missing links. They guess which price was current. The export becomes a second project.
What a good export needs
- Products already organised by project and room
- Source URL on each line where possible
- Price labelled with when it was checked, refreshed first if you need a current figure
- Rejected options moved out of the collection, since the export includes every product in it
- A file someone else can open (CSV, or Excel and PDF on paid plans)
Aalto records the price when you save. While you're working on a project, it rechecks shortlisted and ordered pieces each week and records any change, and you can refresh any product yourself before you quote.
Where the old workflow breaks
The schedule is rebuilt from memory. Errors hide in retyping.
Room order is wrong. Reviewers cannot scan the set.
Prices look authoritative. Without a clear capture point, they are not.
A practical export path
- Freeze the review set for one project and move rejected options out of the collection
- Confirm source URLs and status
- Note when prices were checked, or refresh them first if you need current figures
- Export CSV, or Excel or PDF on a paid plan
- Spot-check five lines against the board
- Send the file with a one-line note about the price capture point
The field map (export columns)
| Column | Source | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Saved product name | Avoid duplicate nicknames |
| Brand | Brand captured at save | Check it matches the maker you order from |
| Price | Price at save or last refresh | Refresh before you quote |
| Currency | Currency of the price | Check before you total a mixed-currency list |
| Status | Built-in status | Saved, shortlisted, ordered, delivered or installed |
| Image URL | Product image | A link to the image |
| Description | Saved description | Trim long supplier copy |
| Source URL | Supplier page | Do not strip on export |
| Tags | Your tags | Keep tag names consistent |
| Section | Section the product sits in | Use sections as rooms and this column is your room |
| Custom fields | One column per field | Add custom fields for supplier, quantity or lead time and they export as columns |
| Date Saved | When you saved the product | Shows how old each record is |
The project name, SKU, dimensions and notes are not in the export. Add a custom field for anything the recipient needs as a column.
Project. Office fit-out. Section. Reception.
The collection holds eight shortlisted products, all in the Reception section. You refresh their prices, then export XLSX for the project team. The email says when prices were last checked. No retyping from screenshots.
How Aalto fits
Build the board first in a visual workspace. Store products across many projects or for future ones. Add a product once. Reuse it across jobs. Export when a sheet or PDF is required. Refresh prices before you send if you need current figures. Aalto is lighter than Programa or Houzz Pro. The rivals are late-stage retyping from scattered research in Excel or Sheets, Drive and screenshots.
Quality check before you send the file
- [ ] Rejected options moved out of the collection
- [ ] Rooms read in a sensible order
- [ ] Source URLs present on shortlisted lines
- [ ] Prices were checked recently, or you've refreshed them
- [ ] Five-line spot check done
When to keep building schedules only in Excel
Keep Excel when the recipient demands a locked template with formulas you do not control. Still gather products in a board first so the paste-down is clean.
Try one export
Export one live project collection. Compare it with your last hand-built schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Are exported prices live?
For pieces you've shortlisted or ordered on an active project, Aalto rechecks the price each week and records any change. Some supplier sites can't be read automatically, so refresh a product before you quote if the price matters.
Which format should I use?
CSV or XLSX for people who edit. PDF for a fixed snapshot. Excel and PDF need a paid plan.
Is this software for procurement?
No. It is schedule output from a product board.