Practical guide · 4 min
Excel or time tracking software: an honest comparison
A spreadsheet can be enough. It can also become the weak point of your organisation. Here is how to tell where you stand, without the sales pitch.
When a spreadsheet is enough
Let's be clear: for some businesses, a well-kept spreadsheet works. This is often the case if:
- the team has 1 to 3 people;
- schedules are stable and discrepancies are rare;
- a single person enters and checks the hours;
- there are few special breaks, no split shifts and no night work;
- nobody ever disputes the hours.
In that case, a simple template (one row per day and per person, with start, end, breaks and a comment) and the discipline of a weekly update can do the job.
The limits that appear as you grow
The difficulties do not arrive all at once. They appear when the team grows, when several people enter data, or when someone asks a question about a past day.
1. Traceability
In a cell, a new value replaces the old one. Unless you enable and actually use version history (which few SMEs do), you no longer know what the original value was, who changed it or why.
2. Versions
“Clockings_October_v3_final_Marc.xlsx”: as soon as the file circulates by email or across several computers, there are several versions of the truth.
3. Evidence
A spreadsheet filled in at the end of the week, from memory, by the manager, is hard to present as an objective and reliable record. The hours often look like the theoretical schedule, which is precisely what you are trying to check.
4. Worker access
A time record should be available to the person concerned. Sharing a spreadsheet with the whole team exposes everyone's data; not sharing it deprives workers of their own history.
5. Calculations
Unpaid breaks, multiple time slots, working past midnight: each case needs a formula, and a broken formula can distort weeks of data without anyone noticing.
6. Security and personal data
A file on a laptop or sent as an attachment has no fine-grained access control, no access log and no guaranteed backup.
Comparison at a glance
| Criterion | Spreadsheet | Time tracking software |
|---|---|---|
| Direct cost | None or already paid for | Subscription (often a few euros per month for a small team) |
| Set-up | Immediate | Initial configuration (schedules, team) |
| Data entry | By one person, often after the fact | By each worker, at the time, or automatic for fixed schedules |
| Change history | Weak | Original value, reason, author and decision kept |
| Worker access to their hours | Difficult to organise | Built in, limited to their own data |
| Complex calculations | Formulas to maintain | Built in |
| Access control | Limited | Roles and permissions per person |
| Dependency | None | Internet connection and supplier |
| Export | Native | Depends on the tool (check the formats offered) |
Software is not magic: it depends on a connection and a supplier, and it has to be configured. But it shifts the work from reconstructing hours to checking them.
The real cost of a spreadsheet
The cost of a spreadsheet is not the software, it is the time. Illustrative example: for a team of 8, 10 minutes of data entry and checking per person per week adds up to about 80 minutes a week, or more than 5 hours a month. At a manager's fully loaded hourly cost, that time quickly becomes a significant budget. Do the maths with your own figures.
What about 2027?
The general obligation currently announced in Belgium does not prescribe a tool: neither a time clock nor software is mandatory. It requires a system that is objective, reliable and accessible. A rigorously kept spreadsheet might, in some cases, remain an option; a spreadsheet filled in after the fact, with no trace of changes, meets these three criteria poorly. The text has not yet been adopted: see Time recording in 2027 and ask your social secretariat for advice.
Keep a paper or spreadsheet fallback procedure
Even with software, it is wise to plan a fallback procedure for the rare moments when the tool is not available (internet outage on a site, flat phone battery, service unavailability).
A simple procedure:
- An attendance sheet (paper or spreadsheet) available at each site: date, name, start time, break start and end, end time, signature or initials.
- A clear rule: if clocking is impossible, write it on the sheet, at the time.
- Prompt regularisation: as soon as the tool is available again, each person submits a correction with the reason “fallback procedure – sheet of DD/MM”.
- Keeping the sheet with the month's documents.
Fallback sheet template (columns): Date · Name · Start · Break start · Break end · End · Location · Initials · Regularised on.
How to decide
Ask yourself three questions:
- How much time do you spend each month reconstructing hours?
- Could you find, today, a worker's actual arrival time two months ago, and who changed it?
- Do your workers have access to their own hours?
If you answer “a lot”, “no” and “no”, software will save you time and give you peace of mind. If your team is very small and stable, a rigorous spreadsheet may still be suitable: discipline is what matters most.
Checklist
- I have estimated the time spent on hours each month.
- I know who enters, who checks and who can change the hours.
- Changes are traceable.
- Workers can view their own hours.
- I have a paper or spreadsheet fallback procedure.
- I export and keep the hours for each month.
With Cloketa
Each worker clocks in and out from their phone, their computer or a shared device, or follows an automatic schedule. Corrections keep the original value, and everyone sees their own hours.
Free trial
Compare over a real week
Keep your spreadsheet for one more week and test Cloketa alongside it. You will see the difference.
Important information Cloketa is a working time recording tool. It does not provide legal or HR advice and does not replace any official declaration or application. Each employer remains responsible for their own obligations: if in doubt, consult your social secretariat or an adviser.