Product
Bidirectional Excel ↔ database synchronization for data managers and scientists. Define once, run forever, review before you commit.
The problem
Organizations managing complex relational data face a persistent workflow gap. The result is a painful manual cycle:
Existing tools either require technical expertise to operate, force organizations to abandon their database infrastructure, or treat Excel as a second-class citizen. None of them solve the round-trip problem cleanly — and none of them let you see exactly what will change in your database before a single row is committed.
How it works
A data manager defines export and import templates using Relay's declarative mapping language: which queries populate which cells, which cell ranges map to which SQL statements. Defined once, reused indefinitely, versioned automatically.
Relay executes the template queries against the database and produces a correctly structured, pre-populated Excel file — including multi-sheet workbooks, iterative row expansion, formula preservation, and parameterized variables. Field teams receive a clean, familiar Excel interface with no database knowledge required.
When a completed workbook is returned, Relay runs the import inside a database transaction, captures every row-level change via in-session audit triggers, and presents a full diff — inserts, updates, deletes, by table, by row, by cell — then rolls back. Nothing touches the database until you explicitly approve. Errors are attributed to the specific Excel cell that caused them.
Once reviewed, the import executes cleanly. Every action is logged with user, timestamp, and full change detail for audit purposes. No guesswork, no surprises.
Who is it for
Found at international programs, NGOs, and research organizations, these users distribute pre-populated Excel templates to country offices or field teams and need to consolidate returned data back into a central database — reliably, repeatedly, and without manual reconciliation.
Working at universities, CROs, and hospital research departments, these coordinators manage study data under IRB or GCP governance. Excel is mandated by many legacy protocols and external collaborators. The approval workflow and audit log directly support compliance requirements where submission errors have regulatory consequences.
These reporters submit structured data to funders, government bodies, or regulators on a fixed schedule. When a regulator provides a required Excel template, they need a way to populate it from the database — and when it comes back completed, import it with a full preview before anything is committed. Critical when submissions are legally or contractually consequential.
Common in supply chain, logistics, and humanitarian operations, these managers maintain stock and asset data in a relational database but perform physical counts and reconciliations in Excel. Export current state, distribute to field teams, import deltas back with anomaly review before committing.
These users collect Excel workbooks from enumerators or field staff and need to merge them into a central database — with upload, validation, preview, and commit handled cleanly, including batch imports from multiple workbooks.
These administrators would configure Relay for their organization: defining templates, managing database connections, setting permissions, and maintaining template versions as schemas evolve. The internal champion who makes it work for everyone else.
Capabilities
The same template governs both export and import. Field teams work in Excel; the database stays consistent. No reformatting, no reconciliation by hand.
See every insert, update, and delete before committing. Powered by in-session audit triggers with full transaction rollback — no separate audit infrastructure required.
Validation errors reference the exact Excel cell that caused the problem — not just a row number. Field teams know precisely what to fix.
Parameterized queries, multi-sheet workbooks, open and closed cell ranges, iterative row expansion with formula and style preservation. Powerful enough for complex schemas.
Iterate on templates without breaking existing workflows. Prior versions remain accessible so ongoing operations are never disrupted by template updates.
Require a second reviewer before imports commit. Built for organizations with data governance requirements where a single user should not be able to unilaterally modify the system of record.
Once templates are defined by a technical user, data managers run exports and imports without SQL or engineering support on every submission cycle.
Every export, upload, preview, and commit is logged with user, timestamp, and change metadata. Complete traceability for compliance and governance.
PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQL Server. Connect Relay to your existing database infrastructure without migration or schema changes.
Why it matters
Most import tools give you two options: trust the data and commit, or write custom validation logic. Relay does something different — before anything is written to the database, it shows you a precise, row-by-row diff of exactly what would happen: every insert, update, and delete, by table and by cell.
Comparison
| Relay | Generic ETL | Low-code platforms | Manual process | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round-trip Excel workflow | Native | Partial | Rare | Yes, manually |
| Transactional import preview | ||||
| Cell-level error attribution | Rarely | |||
| Non-technical day-to-day use | Sometimes | |||
| Template versioning | Complex | Rarely | ||
| Approval workflow | Rarely | |||
| On-premises option | Sometimes | Rarely | N/A | |
| Multi-database support | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MSSQL | Varies | Varies | N/A |
Deployment
No infrastructure to manage. Queries are stored and executed server-side — workbooks never contain embedded SQL or credentials. Contact us for pricing.
For organizations with strict data governance, compliance, or data residency requirements. Run entirely within your own infrastructure with full control over network access and data storage.
If your organization manages complex relational data and distributes collection or reporting through Excel, we'd like to talk.
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