Can I get a conference app if I only have a spreadsheet?

Yes. HEPCon can build a full conference app from an Excel, CSV, or Google Sheets export. No specific column format is required — we handle the data mapping and produce a preview within 48 hours.

What spreadsheet formats are accepted?

Excel (.xlsx, .xls), CSV, Google Sheets (shared link or export), OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods), or any tabular format you can export from your current system.

What columns does my spreadsheet need?

The minimum required is: session/talk title, date and time, room or location, and speaker name. Abstracts, track labels, session types, and affiliations add significantly to the attendee experience but are optional.

How do programme updates work without an automated sync?

You send an updated spreadsheet and we push a new version to the app. Most events do a primary import 2 weeks before and a final update 2-3 days before. For urgent on-site changes, we can push updates within the hour.

Does it work for events using EDAS, Softconf, Pretalx, or other platforms?

Yes, if those platforms can export to CSV or spreadsheet format. Most conference management systems — including EDAS, Softconf/Precision Conference, Pretalx, and Whova — support schedule exports that HEPCon can process.

Conference App From a Spreadsheet | CSV & Excel Agenda to Mobile App

What HEPCon Adds When Your Programme Lives in a Spreadsheet

Most conferences in the world aren't on Indico, ConfTool, or EasyChair. They run on Excel, Google Sheets, or a custom database export. If you can describe your programme in a spreadsheet — sessions, times, speakers, rooms, abstracts — HEPCon turns it into a mobile conference app within 1–2 business days. You don't need a new system.

Any spreadsheet format

.xlsx, .csv, .ods, Google Sheets, or any tabular export — if Excel can open it, we can build from it.

No column template required

We map your columns — rename, split combined fields, resolve ambiguities — in a review step before anything goes live.

Same Discovery features

Conflict warnings, semantic abstract search, change-log feed — identical to Indico-grade events.

Diff-based updates

Send a new spreadsheet; HEPCon diffs it against the previous import and pushes only what changed.

See pricing →

Any Spreadsheet Format

.xlsx, .csv, .ods, Google Sheets export, or a database dump. If you can open it in Excel, we can build a conference app from it.

Who Uses Spreadsheet-Based Setup

Custom In-House Systems

Labs and research institutes that built their own agenda tools and export programme data as CSV or XML.

Niche Academic Platforms

EDAS, Softconf/Precision Conference, Pretalx, Whova, Cvent — any system that can export a schedule to spreadsheet.

Hybrid & Society Events

Professional society conferences built in-house without a standard submission system. The programme lives in a shared spreadsheet.

Internal Corporate Events

Internal summits, company all-hands with a formal programme, and R&D days where the agenda is maintained in Excel by the events team.

What Your Spreadsheet Needs to Contain

You don't need a perfectly formatted template. We handle the mapping. But the more complete your data, the richer the app experience. Here's what matters:

Required for a working app

Session or talk titles
Date and start/end times (with timezone if international)
Room or location names
Speaker or presenter names

With just these four, we can build a navigable timetable with offline access and personal scheduling.

Adds significant value

Abstract or description text — enables full-text search
Track or category labels — enables filtering by topic
Speaker affiliations — adds context to the speaker profile
Session type (keynote, contributed talk, poster, workshop) — improves navigation
Co-authors or co-presenters

No standard format required. Your columns don't need to match a template. Share what you have and we'll map it — including renaming columns, splitting combined fields, and resolving ambiguities in a review step before anything goes live.

What We Handle So You Don't Have To

Spreadsheet data is messy. We clean it up before it goes into the app.

Time and Timezone Normalisation

Mixed formats (9:00 AM, 09:00, 9h00), missing timezones, daylight saving edge cases — we normalise all of this before the app goes live.

Speaker Deduplication

"J. Smith", "John Smith", and "Smith, John" all refer to the same person. We deduplicate authors and speakers so presenter profiles are unified.

Track and Session Mapping

We translate your spreadsheet structure into the track → session → talk hierarchy that makes dense programmes navigable on mobile.

How It Works

Send us your spreadsheet. Excel, Google Sheets link, CSV — whatever format you have. Include your event dates, venue name, and timezone. A logo and primary colour are optional but make the app look polished.
We map and review. Within 48 hours we produce a preview of your app built from your data. We'll flag any ambiguities — duplicate room names, missing times, unclear session structure — so you can confirm or correct before anything goes live.
You review the preview. Browse your programme, test the search, check a few speaker profiles. If something's wrong, tell us — we fix it, usually same day.
Go live. Share a QR code or download link with your participants. If the programme changes before the event, send us an updated spreadsheet and we'll push the changes.

Keeping Your App in Sync Without a Live API

Spreadsheet-based conferences don't have an automatic sync mechanism — there's no Indico API to poll. This means updates require a fresh export from your side. Here's what works well in practice:

T–14 days: send the programme when it's largely finalised. This is the primary import.
T–3 days: send a final update with any last changes. We push an updated version to the app.
During the event: for room changes or urgent updates, contact us directly and we'll push the change — typically within the hour. Attendees can receive a push notification.

For events using the Organizer Dashboard, you can push minor updates — announcements, room changes — directly without sending a new spreadsheet.

No Platform Doesn't Mean No Capability

Spreadsheet-driven events get the same Discovery layer as Indico-grade conferences. Three shipped differentiators that work even without a named source platform.

Conflict detection on personal agendas

When attendees bookmark overlapping sessions, the agenda banner and per-row badges make the clash visible before the day starts — no matter whether the source data came from a cloud platform or a spreadsheet column.

Conflict detection →

Change log when you ship the next CSV

Every time you upload an updated spreadsheet, HEPCon diffs it against the previous import and emits human-readable change events on the attendee app: "Room moved A3 → B1", "Speaker substituted", etc. — without writing a single line of integration code.

Programme change log →

Semantic search of the abstracts column

Drop an "abstract" column in your sheet and HEPCon embeds each row's text. Attendees search by meaning — the underlying provenance (Excel vs Indico) is invisible to the experience.

Semantic search →

What Attendees See

The same offline-first, searchable app — built from your spreadsheet data.

HEPCon app home screen showing conference programme

Programme overview with tracks and day navigation

Personal schedule — works offline after first sync

Add an Attendee Layer to Your Spreadsheet-Driven Event

Send your spreadsheet and HEPCon publishes your conference inside the HEPCon app within 1–2 business days. Your existing planning workflow stays untouched.

Preview With My Spreadsheet Ask a Question First

Also see: complete guide to spreadsheet-based conference app setup →