The ramp up cost isn't months vs minutes. That is just pure nonsense.
More often than expected, there are mistakes and misunderstandings in some of the spreadsheets. There are inconsistencies in the spreadsheets. In IT we also get calls that a spreadsheet is "locked by someone." Or that someone deleted a spreadsheet.
With code, and databases, we can ensure consistency between operators. We can also leverage the data across other applications since it lives in a database now. We can pull reports for management more easily, and with more automation.
As some other comments mentioned, spreadsheets are great for prototyping, but also have their drawbacks.