Education
Export FF&E schedule
Export an FF&E schedule from organised product boards without rebuilding the sheet by hand. Price at save, rescrape on demand, hand off cleanly.
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 as at-save, with on-demand rescrape when you need a current figure
- Status filtered so dropped items do not ship
- A file someone else can open (CSV, XLSX or PDF)
Aalto stores the price when you save. You can rescrape prices on demand when you need current ones. Prices do not auto-update in the background.
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 or one room
- Confirm source URLs and status
- Note that prices are at-save, or rescrape on demand first if you need current figures
- Export CSV, XLSX or PDF
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Project | Project name | Keep one project per export when possible |
| Room | Room or collection | Empty rooms confuse handoffs |
| Product | Saved name | Avoid duplicate nicknames |
| Supplier | Maker field | |
| Qty | Custom field or note | Confirm before handoff |
| Price at save | Price captured at save | At save. Rescrape on demand when needed |
| Source URL | Attached link | Do not strip on export |
| Status | Tag or field | Filter to approved or shortlisted |
| Notes | Short note | Keep open questions visible |
Project. Office fit-out. Room. Reception.
The board holds eight approved products. You export XLSX for the project team. The email says prices were captured at save and can be rescraped on demand when a current figure is needed. 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. Rescrape prices on demand when you need current ones before you send. 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
- [ ] Dropped items excluded
- [ ] Rooms read in a sensible order
- [ ] Source URLs present on shortlisted lines
- [ ] Price capture note included
- [ ] 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 room from a live project board. Compare it with your last hand-built schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Are exported prices live?
No. They reflect the price stored when you save. You can rescrape on demand when you need a current price. They do not continuously auto-update in the background.
Which format should I use?
CSV or XLSX for people who edit. PDF for a fixed snapshot.
Is this software for procurement?
No. It is schedule output from a product board.