A spreadsheet is genuinely fine while the team is small, the work is simple and one person owns the file. You have outgrown it when five things start happening: you chase people every month, month-old totals no longer match what you paid or invoiced, nobody can answer who approved a number, billable hours become guesswork, and one shared file means everyone sees everyone's hours. Timesheet software fixes the record, not the discipline.
- Chasing the file has become someone's recurring job.
- Numbers change after payroll has already run.
- There is no record of who approved what, only the number.
- Billable and internal work cannot be separated without rebuilding the sheet.
- A single shared file means no access control at all.
Side by side
| What you need | Spreadsheet | Timesheet software |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Free, already installed | Per-seat fee after a trial |
| Approvals | Informal: a reply in chat or email | Built in, with submit, approve, reject and a visible status |
| Edits after sign-off | Any cell can change, usually silently | Approved weeks lock; reopening is deliberate and recorded |
| Who can see what | Everyone with the link sees everything | Roles: Admin, Approver, Staff |
| Billable vs non-billable | A column someone must maintain | Set on the job type, reported automatically |
| Reporting | Manual pivot tables each month | 13 built-in reports, exportable to CSV or Excel |
| Scale | Fine for a handful of people | Designed for dozens to hundreds of users |
When a spreadsheet is genuinely fine
If you have fewer than about five people, one project at a time, no client billing by the hour and no external audit, a spreadsheet is cheaper and faster. Buying software to solve a problem you do not have yet is just a different kind of waste.
Five signs you have outgrown it
- You chase people every month. Collecting the file has become someone's recurring job.
- Numbers change after payroll. A month-old total no longer matches what you paid or invoiced.
- Nobody can answer “who approved this?” There is no record of the decision, only the number.
- Billable hours are guesswork. You cannot separate client work from internal work without rebuilding the sheet.
- Everyone sees everyone's hours. One shared file means no access control at all.
What actually changes after the switch
The honest answer: data entry takes about the same time. What changes is everything after entry. Hours arrive with a status instead of a chase; approvals are a click by the right manager rather than an email thread; approved weeks lock, so month-end totals stop moving; billable and non-billable split themselves because the job type already says which is which; and reports come out as CSV or Excel without anyone rebuilding a pivot table.
What it will not do: software does not make people log hours on time. A fixed weekly cut-off and a manager who actually reviews submissions do that. The tool makes the rhythm visible and enforceable — it does not replace it.
The real cost of staying on spreadsheets
Spreadsheets look free because the licence is free. The cost shows up elsewhere: the hours someone spends each month chasing files and rebuilding pivot tables, the client hours that were worked but never invoiced because nobody could prove them, and the payroll corrections that follow a number changing after the fact. For a team of twenty, half a day of admin a month plus one missed billable day a quarter usually costs more than the software does. Work out your own version of that number before deciding either way.
Moving across without drama
- Keep the spreadsheet for history. Archive it read-only; do not attempt to import years of mixed formats.
- Start from a clean week. Pick a Monday and begin fresh in the new system.
- Recreate only live projects. Add the projects and job types you are working on now, not everything you have ever done.
- Run both for one week. Compare the totals once, and confirm they match.
- Stop the spreadsheet. Running two systems for a month guarantees people use neither properly.
If you want to test this with your own numbers, the small business overview walks through the setup, and the approval workflow guide covers the review step in detail.
Frequently asked questions
Is a spreadsheet good enough for tracking employee hours?
For fewer than about five people, one project at a time and no hourly client billing, yes. It becomes a problem once approvals, billable splits and access control matter.
What is the main advantage of timesheet software over Excel?
The approval step and the locked record. Hours arrive with a status, the right manager approves them, and approved weeks stop changing silently.
Should we import our old spreadsheet data?
Usually no. Archive the old file read-only and start clean from a chosen Monday. Importing years of mixed formats costs more than it returns.
How long does it take to switch?
Most small teams set up projects, job types and approvers in an afternoon, then run one parallel week to confirm the totals match.
Will software make people submit hours on time?
No. A fixed weekly cut-off and a manager who reviews submissions do that. Software makes the deadline visible and the record enforceable.