Most businesses start on a spreadsheet, and many should stay there for a while. A spreadsheet is cheap, familiar and flexible. This guide helps you decide whether yours still does the job, or whether mistakes and missing information are starting to cost you.
A spreadsheet is enough when
- one person keeps it and nobody else needs to change it,
- you have a small number of customers, tenants or products,
- you only need totals, not alerts or messages,
- a mistake is easy to spot and cheap to fix.
Signs you have outgrown it
- Several people edit it. You end up with copies, or someone types over someone else's work.
- You match money by hand. M-Pesa messages, bank deposits and cash all need to be lined up with the right person.
- You find mistakes at month end. By then it is hard to trace where they started.
- You need to send things. Receipts, reminders or statements are still typed one by one.
- Everyone sees everything. You cannot give a staff member access to only what they need.
- Things expire or run out. A spreadsheet will not warn you, and you find out on the shelf.
What to ask before you choose software
- Does it fit my business, or will I bend my business to fit it?
- Does it work on a phone, since that is what my team carries?
- Can I try it with my own data before I pay?
- Does it connect to M-Pesa and SMS, if I use them every day?
- Who sees my records, and can I export them if I leave?
How to switch without a bad month
- Clean the spreadsheet first: one row per customer, tenant or product, with no blanks.
- Start with the demo, and put in a few real records.
- Run the new system next to the spreadsheet for a month and compare totals.
- Move over completely once the numbers agree.
Not sure yet? Our live apps, Kodi Manager for rent and Pharma for pharmacies, each come with a demo and a 3 month free trial. If your business is different, tell us how it runs and we will say honestly whether a spreadsheet is still enough.