Spreadsheets vs. Web Systems: When to Ditch Excel in Your Business

## Excel Is Killing Your Profit (And You Don't Even Know)

You started your company controlling everything in Excel. Inventory, sales, cash flow, customer data — all in colorful spreadsheets. It works at first. But when business grows, Excel becomes a silent trap.

### Signs You've Already Outgrown It

- ✗ Inventory "matches" the spreadsheet, but products are missing from shelves
- ✗ You don't know real monthly profit until manually closing everything
- ✗ Two people edit the same spreadsheet and data gets lost
- ✗ Finance depends on one person who "knows where each tab is"
- ✗ You've sent proposals with wrong numbers due to broken formulas

**If 3+ items apply to your business, Excel is already costing you money.**

## What a Web System Is (No Jargon)

A web system is like a smart Excel that:

- **Calculates automatically** — inventory updates when you sell
- **Prevents errors** — validated fields, no broken formulas
- **Works anywhere** — phone, tablet, laptop
- **Shows the real picture** — visual dashboards with automatic charts
- **Multiple users** — each with own permissions, no conflicts

## Real Comparison: Excel vs. Web System

| Criteria | Excel / Spreadsheet | Web System |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | "Free" (but costs time) | $50-100/mo |
| Data loss risk | High (corrupted file) | Zero (auto backup) |
| Simultaneous access | Problematic | Unlimited |
| Reports | Manual (hours) | Automatic (seconds) |
| Scalability | Freezes at 5,000+ rows | Millions of records |
| Security | None (anyone can open) | Login, permissions, audit |

## When to Migrate

Migrate now if you: have revenue over $5K/month, have 3+ employees, sell online and offline, or waste time building reports.

## The Real Cost of Not Migrating

A store owner generating $30K/month discovered $2K monthly losses from: duplicate supplier orders, unrecorded sales, and outdated pricing.

**System investment**: $3,500 | **Monthly savings**: $2,000 | **Payback**: 7 weeks

> **Custom software isn't luxury. It's the minimum for growing without chaos.**