If your team is small and the volume of requests is low, Excel is perfectly fine for management. But at a certain point, Excel begins to "eat" more than it "helps": many people open tables to overwrite data, need SLAs and reports, tickets are missed without anyone knowing. So when should you buy helpdesk software instead of continuing to use Excel?
Zenify's data shows that businesses moving at the right time can reduce operating costs by 35%. So what is the milestone that indicates that you have crossed the threshold? Below are the identifying signs along with a real cost comparison table.
TL;DR
- Excel is fine when there are few people and few tickets, but there are limits.
- Signs that you should buy software: 5-10+ tickets/day, 3+ people, need SLA/reporting, or missing tickets.
- Excel is "cheap" in cost but expensive in time and errors.
- Buying software is not a cost but an investment when it exceeds the threshold.
- Gradually switch: run in parallel and then completely cut off Excel.
When does Excel still make sense?
Before you talk about buying software, let's see when Excel is still a reasonable choice. For small shop owners just starting out, Excel can work when the following 3 conditions are met:
Few users (1-3 people), same place.
Low volume (<5-10 tickets/day).
No need for SLA, reporting, automation, everything can be done at hand.
At this level, the software cost is not worth it, Excel/Google Sheets is enough.
Signs you should buy helpdesk software
On the contrary, you need software when you encounter 2 of the 5 signs below:
Increased volume: >5-10 tickets/day, easy to see in e-commerce shops when orders increase; Manual data entry takes up time.
Many people use it at the same time: 3+ people open the same table, overwrite the data, don't know who did what.
Need SLA and warning: Overdue ticket no one sees because Excel doesn't remind.
Need to report: Weekly manual synthesis takes hours, often wrong (see Weekly helpdesk report).
Missed ticket: The request was forgotten because it was on an old line and no one updated it.
Compare real costs
To clearly see why software is not "an extra cost", compare the actual costs of the two methods through the following table:
Category | Excel | Helpdesk software
Purchase fee | ~0đ | Several hundred thousand - several million/month
Input time | Many (hands) | Automatically from channel
Overdue warning | None | Yes
Report | Hand synthesis | Automatic
Missing tickets | Usually | Rare (thanks for warning)
Data entry errors | Yes | Strong reduction
Note: most of the cost of Excel is not in the spreadsheet price, but in data entry time, manual reporting, and missing tickets. A team of 5 people synthesizing manual reports a few hours/week can be done with the software fee (see Total cost of 5 apps vs 1 platform).
How to switch from Excel to software
If you have determined that you should buy, move slowly according to the following 4 steps so as not to interrupt the team's work:
Run in parallel for 2 weeks: still import Excel, start using the software with the main channel.
Enter important old data (unfinished tickets, VIP guests), no need to enter all history.
Train the team to use the software 100% when everyone is familiar with it.
Stop Excel, keep the archive, do not continue importing in parallel.
3 mistakes when deciding
To make a wise decision, you should also avoid the following 3 mistakes:
Buying software too early: Team of 2 people, 3 tickets/day not needed; useless waste.
Staying in Excel too long: Wait until the ticket is seriously missing and the customer complains before transferring; twice as difficult.
Choose heavy software: buy full features while only needing to collect channels + SLA (see Helpdesk tool for a team of 5 people).