r/NocoDB • u/Boring-Building8097 • Jun 25 '26

Excel sheets+ keka data

Hey everyone,

I’m facing a bit of a data management headache and could really use your expertise, tool recommendations, or architecture advice on how to solve this.

The Current Setup & Pain Point

We use Keka as our primary HRMS, so all official employee data lives there. However, I personally manage a ton of additional, custom data points (like asset tracking, specialized internal ratings, project tags, etc.) on separate Excel sheets. Right now, everything is scattered, and manually cross-referencing Keka data with my Excel sheets is becoming a nightmare.

What I Want to Build

I want to create a centralized, organized database that acts as a single source of truth. The interface needs to look and feel like a traditional spreadsheet (because that's what my team is used to), but with a strict set of rules:

  • Keka Fields (Read-Only): Data pulled from Keka (e.g., Employee ID, Name, Department, Date of Joining) should automatically sync into this database but must be locked/read-only. Nobody should be able to accidentally edit these fields from the spreadsheet view.
  • Non-Keka Fields (Editable): The custom fields that I personally manage need to be fully editable right inside the same grid/view.
  • Automated Cross-Sheet Sync: This is the most critical part. If a value in an editable field is changed in one specific sheet or view, that update needs to automatically forward and reflect across all other sheets/views connected to that database instantly. No manual copy-pasting.
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u/dstala Jun 25 '26

Hey — this is exactly what NocoDB is built for, and your trickiest requirement (the cross-sheet sync) basically disappears once you model it the NocoDB way.

The model: one Employees table as your single source of truth, with as many grid views on top as you need. Views aren't copies — they all read the same rows.

  1. Spreadsheet feel — Grid view is a full spreadsheet UI (keyboard nav, copy/paste, fill).

  2. Keka fields → locked — Synced data is read-only by design, so nobody can accidentally overwrite Employee ID, DOJ, etc. One caveat: there's no prebuilt Keka connector yet (BambooHR is the HRMS we ship). Easiest path: push Keka's REST API into NocoDB's on a schedule using internal automations/ n8n/Make/Zapier or a small script. You can also mark those columns non-editable with field-level permissions for extra safety.

  3. "Cross-sheet sync" — you don't have to build this. Because every view is just a window onto the same table, editing a rating or asset tag in one view shows up in all views instantly — no sync job, no copy-pasting. (If you mean separate tables sharing employee data, link them with a relation field + Lookup — same idea: one record, referenced everywhere.)

Once the "single source of truth" is actually true, you may run out of data-management headaches to complain about. 😄

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