Excel Seems Free - Until It Isn't
Most schools start with spreadsheets. They appear cost-effective and familiar. But the hidden costs accumulate quickly.
The Real Expenses
Time: Teachers spend hours on data entry instead of instruction. One school calculated 15 hours weekly across staff - nearly half a full-time position.
Errors: Manual data entry guarantees mistakes. Grades get transposed. Students appear in wrong classes. Reports contain contradictions.
Version Chaos: Which file is current? Who has the latest attendance? Spreadsheets multiply uncontrollably.
No Audit Trail: When something changes, there's no record of who, when, or why. Regulatory compliance becomes impossible.
Security Risks: Files get emailed, copied to USB drives, stored in personal cloud accounts. Student data protection fails completely.
The Breaking Point
Schools realize spreadsheets don't work when:
- An audit request can't be fulfilled with confidence
- A critical file gets corrupted with no backup
- Parent disputes can't be resolved due to inconsistent records
- Report cards take weeks to produce manually
The question isn't whether to upgrade from Excel - it's when.