Excel vs accounting software
Running your books in a spreadsheet or in Accoru: what each does well, where spreadsheets fall short, and when it's worth switching.
The short answer
A spreadsheet is cheap and endlessly flexible, and for a few transactions a month it can be enough. It won't check that your books balance, keep a record of who changed what, or let clients pay an invoice online. Accoru does those things for $9 a month, $85 a year, or $99 once for 5 years.
Side-by-side comparison
| Accoru | Excel or another spreadsheet | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $9 / month, $85 / year, or $99 for 5 years | Nothing extra if you already have a spreadsheet app |
| Flexibility | A fixed accounting structure. You can edit the chart of accounts, tax rates and document templates | Any layout, formula or model you can build |
| Setup | Chart of accounts, invoice templates and reports ready to use | You design the sheets, categories and formulas yourself |
| Double-entry checks | Every transaction posts to a double-entry ledger; trial balance built in | None built in. Nothing stops one side of an entry going missing |
| Audit trail | Activity log on every record and per-action audit log | No log tied to each transaction. File version history depends on where you store it |
| Invoices | Branded invoices emailed from Accoru, with delivery tracking | Typed into a template, then saved and sent by hand |
| Online payment | Public pay links through your own Stripe or PayPal, invoice marked paid automatically | No pay links. You share bank details and mark invoices paid yourself |
| Recurring billing and reminders | Automatic recurring invoices, bills and expenses, plus payment reminders | Copy last month's invoice and send it yourself |
| Reports | P&L, balance sheet, trial balance, AR / AP aging and cash flow, generated live | Built and maintained by hand with formulas |
| Multi-currency | 50+ currencies with daily exchange rates | Look up and type exchange rates yourself |
| Working with your accountant | Invite them with the accountant role, or share read-only report links | Email them a copy of the file |
| Bank transactions | Entered by hand too: Accoru has no automatic bank feed | Typed or pasted in by hand |
The spreadsheet column describes a spreadsheet used as a general ledger, as most small businesses set one up. You can build some of these checks into a workbook yourself, but you have to maintain them, and nothing stops them from being overwritten.
What spreadsheets do well
Spreadsheets are popular for bookkeeping for good reasons. If your business is small and simple, they may be all you need for now.
The trouble starts as the business grows: more invoices to chase, more people touching the file, and no built-in way to know whether the numbers still add up.
- ✓Low costIf you already have a spreadsheet app, your books cost nothing extra.
- ✓Total flexibilityAny layout, any categories, any formula. Nothing is decided for you.
- ✓FamiliarMost people already know their way around a spreadsheet, so there is nothing new to learn.
- ✓Good for planningBudgets, forecasts and what-if models are where spreadsheets are strongest, and many businesses keep using them for that.
What switching would cost
A spreadsheet you already pay for adds nothing to your costs, and Accoru does. Here is what Accoru costs over time on each of its three options. Every option includes all 19 features.
The other cost is your time: building and checking formulas, retyping invoices, and chasing payments by email. Only you can put a number on that.
| Period | Monthly | Yearly | 5-Year Pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | $108 | $85 | $99 |
| 2 years | $216 | $170 | $99 |
| 3 years | $324 | $255 | $99 |
| 4 years | $432 | $340 | $99 |
| 5 years | $540 | $425 | $99 |
Monthly is $9 × 12 a year. The 5-Year Pass is one payment of $99 that covers 5 years. Prices in US dollars. If you'd need to buy a spreadsheet app just for your books, check its current price on the vendor's own site.
See pricing →Which one is right for you?
Choose Accoru if you
- ✓send invoices regularly and want clients to pay online by card or PayPal
- ✓want books that balance, with a double-entry ledger and a trial balance you don't have to build
- ✓share the books with a partner, staff or an accountant and need roles and an activity log
- ✓hold stock or invoice in more than one currency
A spreadsheet may be enough if you
- •have only a handful of transactions a month
- •rarely invoice, or your clients pay by bank transfer without needing a pay link
- •are the only person who touches the books and you're comfortable checking your own formulas
- •want to spend nothing extra, and your accountant is happy to work from your sheet at year-end
From spreadsheet tab to Accoru
The tabs most bookkeeping spreadsheets have, and how the same job works in Accoru.
The invoice log
Instead of a list of invoice numbers and a separate template, you send branded quotes that clients accept online, convert them to invoices in one click, and email them from Accoru with delivery tracking. Numbering, discounts, taxes, credit notes and write-offs are handled for you.
Features: Quotations · Invoices · Email & SharingThe "who has paid" column
Clients pay from a link on the invoice through your own Stripe or PayPal account, and the invoice is marked paid automatically, with no Accoru fee. Partial payments and one payment across several invoices are recorded properly, and AR aging shows who owes what.
Features: Online Invoice Payments · Payments · ReportsThe expenses tab
Record vendor bills and expenses by category, track what you owe each vendor, and pass billable expenses onto a customer invoice. Recurring bills and expenses are created on a schedule.
Features: Bills & Expenses · Recurring & SubscriptionsThe bank balance column
Keep bank and cash accounts with deposits, withdrawals and transfers that tie back to the ledger. You still enter transactions yourself, since there is no automatic bank feed, but payments and bills update the right account.
Features: BankingThe month-end totals
P&L, balance sheet, trial balance, AR / AP aging and cash flow are generated live from your transactions, with no formulas to maintain. Export to PDF or share a read-only link with your accountant.
Features: General Ledger · Reports · Advanced ReportsThe stock sheet
Keep one catalogue of products and services with sales and purchase prices and per-item tax rates. On-hand quantities adjust as invoices and bills use them.
Features: Items & InventoryIncluded in every Accoru plan
There are no feature tiers. These are a few of the 19 features you get from day one.
See all features →- ✓Quotations with online accept / decline
- ✓Invoices with public pay links
- ✓Recurring invoices, bills & expenses
- ✓Stripe & PayPal payments, no Accoru fee
- ✓Bank & cash accounts
- ✓Double-entry ledger & manual journals
- ✓P&L, balance sheet, AR / AP aging
- ✓Items & inventory
- ✓50+ currencies, daily FX rates
- ✓Client portal
- ✓10 PDF templates
- ✓Admin, accountant & viewer roles
Moving from spreadsheets to Accoru
Accoru has no import tool, so you set up your books by hand, using your spreadsheet as the reference. Switch at the start of a month or quarter so the opening balances are clean, and keep your old workbooks as the record of earlier years. If you get stuck, email support@accoru.com and a person will help.
- 1Set up your companyAdd your logo, brand color, tax IDs, default terms and document numbering in Company Settings.
- 2Turn your categories into accountsMap the income and expense categories from your spreadsheet to Accoru's editable chart of accounts, adding or renaming accounts where needed.
- 3Enter opening balancesPost your bank balances, what customers owe you and what you owe vendors on your switch date as a manual journal entry, then check them against the trial balance.
- 4Add customers, vendors and itemsSet up your contacts and your products and services catalogue with prices and tax rates.
- 5Connect payments and bankingLink your Stripe or PayPal account and add your bank and cash accounts. You're ready to send your first invoice.
How we compared
This page is published by Accoru, so we have an interest in the outcome. We compared a spreadsheet used as a simple ledger, the way most small businesses set one up, with Accoru's standard plan. We don't quote spreadsheet app prices, because many people already have one. Where a spreadsheet is the better fit, we say so.
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- Spotted something out of date?
- Email support@accoru.com and we'll correct it.