Compare · vs Spreadsheets
Ustawi vs. running your loan book in a spreadsheet.
- Audit log
- Actor, timestamp, detail
- Approvals
- A ladder that can't be skipped
- PAR / aging
- Calculated live from schedules
Why spreadsheets are a reasonable place to start
There is nothing wrong with starting in a spreadsheet. It's free, everyone knows how to use one, and for a handful of loans it's genuinely faster than any system. The problems don't come from the spreadsheet being bad — they come from the loan book outgrowing what a single shared file can safely do: several people editing at once, an audit trail, an approval step that can't be skipped, and reports that have to be right for a regulator.
At a glance
The same capability rows as the full table below — switch between a side-by-side view and a neutral summary.
- Audit trail of who changed what✓—
- Safe concurrent multi-user editing✓—
- Enforced approval workflow✓—
- Automatic PAR / aging✓≈
- Regulatory (BOT) reports✓—
- Offline field capture✓—
Feature comparison
| Capability | Ustawi | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Audit trail of who changed what | Full audit log — actor, timestamp, detail | No reliable change history |
| Safe concurrent multi-user editing | Built for many users at once | Prone to overwrite conflicts |
| Enforced approval workflow | Approval ladder that can't be skipped | Nothing stops an unapproved edit |
| Automatic PAR / aging | Calculated live from schedules | Manual formulas, error-prone |
| Regulatory (BOT) reports | Generated from the ledger | Rebuilt by hand each period |
| Offline field capture | Offline-first mobile app | Not designed for the field |
Signs you've outgrown a spreadsheet
There's no magic loan count where a spreadsheet breaks — watch for the strain instead. Two people overwrite each other's changes. Nobody can say for certain who edited a balance, or when. A regulator asks for a report and it takes days to rebuild. An approval that should have happened didn't, and there's no record either way. When those start happening, the spreadsheet has become the risk, not the tool.
Moving your data over
You don't have to start from scratch. Migrating from spreadsheet-based records is a supported path — the fastest way to see how your own data looks in Ustawi is to book a demo or send us an extract of your current records, and we'll take it from there.
Outgrown your spreadsheet? Let's talk.
Book a tailored walk-through — we'll map it to how your institution actually operates.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, migration from spreadsheet-based records is a supported path — contact us to discuss your specific file.