Why Logs Matter
Harmonize is opinionated about how your spreadsheets are structured — and for good reason.
Our system works best with line-level, or log-formatted data: datasets that record individual events or transactions. Think of each row as a single story — one harvest, one expense, one sale — captured in time.
A Good Example: Line-Level Data
Here’s what a clean, Harmonize-ready sheet looks like 👇
| Date | Item | Quantity | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-04 | Arugula | 10 | lbs | Sold to Coffee Coffee |
| 2025-03-05 | Carrots | 15 | lbs | CSA Harvest Week 10 |
| 2025-03-06 | Kale | 12 | lbs | Farmers Market Sale |
Each row represents a single event. It’s easy for a human — and for Harmonize — to read, store, and append new entries to this format.
A Common Mistake: Dashboard-Style Data
Many people (understandably) design their spreadsheets to look like summaries or dashboards — great for reading, terrible for AI parsing.
Here’s an example of what not to connect directly:
| Item | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arugula | 10 lbs | 15 lbs | 20 lbs | 12 lbs | 57 lbs |
| Carrots | 8 lbs | 12 lbs | 14 lbs | 9 lbs | 43 lbs |
| Kale | 5 lbs | 10 lbs | 9 lbs | 6 lbs | 30 lbs |
This kind of layout is visually intuitive but logically ambiguous. When a system reads it, it can’t easily determine what each “cell” represents — is it a sale? a harvest? a total? And because Harmonize is built to let you text natural phrases like “harvested 12 lbs of kale today,” it needs your data structured in a way that matches those simple statements.
How Harmonize Helps You Fix It
If your spreadsheet isn’t already log-formatted, don’t worry. When you connect it to Harmonize, we automatically analyze its structure.
If it’s not compatible, we’ll suggest a cleaner layout and generate a new, properly formatted version for you — safely copying your existing data into the new structure.
Your original sheet stays untouched; you simply gain a Harmonize-optimized version that’s ready to receive data by text.
Why Structure Creates Simplicity
This isn’t about being strict — it’s about enabling elegance. Harmonize’s promise is that you never have to think in formulas or prompts — you just text what happened, and it knows where to put it.
That level of intuition depends on consistent structure underneath.
By keeping your data in a log format, you make it easier for Harmonize (and for you) to see your history, query your patterns, and grow your business without friction.
Clarity in structure creates freedom in use.