Describe the columns and the calculation, and use made-up suppliers, prices and volumes. Build and test the formula or query that way, then run it on the real data in your approved tools.
Can I upload the spend file?
That’s for your company’s rules to decide. Changing the supplier names doesn’t make a file safe to share. Getting help with a formula and sending real prices to a tool are different things.
1. Build the logic, then review where it runs.
Develop. Describe fictional columns and the calculation you want. Ask for a formula or query with each step explained.
Inspect. Check for outside connections, file changes and permissions. Have a qualified person review code you can’t assess yourself.
Run. Use the approved environment and the access controls the real data requires.
Practical check: A generated query isn’t automatically local or safe.
2. Test with known answers.
Use a small fictional set with known totals, a credit, a duplicate and more than one currency. Check how each one is treated. Keep conversion assumptions and missing fields explicit.
Practical check: The output should be explainable, not just impressive.
3. Debug without exposing anything.
Don’t paste real records, passwords or sensitive screenshots into the conversation when something breaks. Recreate the problem with the fictional set.
Read more: Using AI on HR Spreadsheets Without Sharing Employee Data · Using AI to Compare Supplier Quotes
Examples are fictional. This is general guidance, not advice for your situation.