Symphony turns Excel into a real collaboration tool — without asking you to change how you work. Here's the shortest path from install to your first Submit.
Symphony is an Excel add-in that adds six commands to the ribbon: Submit, Refresh, Invite, Changes, xCopy, and xPaste. Together they let you and your team update the same worksheet privately, share when you're ready, and see every change with reasoning attached.
You don't need a new tool. You don't need to change your workbook structure. You keep the Excel you already know.
Step 1: Install the add-in
Download the Symphony installer from your account. It's a Windows installer (Mac support is coming). Run it, and Symphony appears as a new ribbon tab in Excel — right next to your existing tabs.
Sign in with the email address you used to subscribe. Symphony connects the add-in to your account.
Step 2: Open a Symphony workbook
A Symphony workbook is a regular Excel workbook that has been shared through Symphony. When you open one, you'll see the same worksheet you always would — plus the Symphony ribbon showing you which worksheet you own and which ones your teammates own.
If you don't have a workbook yet, ask the person who invited you where to find it. If you're setting one up yourself, see our practical guide to setting up your first Symphony workbook.
Step 3: Work on your worksheet
Update your worksheet like you normally would. Type numbers, change formulas, sort rows, add columns. Nothing about the editing experience is different from regular Excel.
Here's the important part: your changes are private. Nobody on your team can see them until you Submit. Work in peace. Iterate freely. Change your mind three times.
Step 4: Submit when ready
When you're ready to share your changes, click Submit on the Symphony ribbon. You'll be asked to add a short reason — one sentence explaining what changed and why. This becomes part of the permanent history.
Once you Submit, your teammates can see the update the next time they Refresh.
Step 5: Refresh to see teammates' work
Click Refresh on the Symphony ribbon to pull in every teammate's most recent Submit. You'll see what changed since your last Refresh, who changed it, and their reason for the change.
That's the whole loop. Work privately. Submit when ready. Refresh to see what changed. Repeat as often as you like — some teams do this five times a day, some just once a week.
Read the practical setup guide.
Learn how to structure your first workbook, invite your team, and choose between worksheet-per-owner and row-per-owner patterns.
Setting up your first workbook