Spreadsheets are the better fit for one company with low volume, a small team and one-off analysis. Naarvin fits when several companies, many bank lines, approvals and an audit trail make the workbook slow and risky. Teams that move usually keep spreadsheets for ad-hoc work, and Naarvin can send live figures into Excel and Google Sheets.
Which should a finance team use?
Use what fits your scale and your control needs. A single company with modest volume, one or two bank accounts and a close that finishes on time can run well on spreadsheets. A group with several companies, currencies and ERPs, a board that wants reports in two languages and auditors who want evidence for every step usually outgrows them.
This page compares the two for the three jobs where the choice matters most: the month-end close, reporting and cash. Naarvin wrote it, so we have tried to be plain about where spreadsheets are the better choice.
Where are spreadsheets the better fit?
Spreadsheets have real strengths, and no platform replaces all of them.
- Flexibility. You can model anything, in any layout, in minutes. For a one-off acquisition model or a pricing question, a spreadsheet is often the fastest tool.
- Cost. Most finance teams already have the licences. There is nothing to set up and nothing new to buy.
- Skills. Every accountant knows Excel. There is no training and no new process.
- Small scale. With one company, one currency and low volume, a well-built workbook and a disciplined team can close on time.
If that describes your team, and your close is on time, accurate and reviewed, you may not need more yet.
Where do spreadsheets break down?
The problems grow with the number of companies, transactions and people.
- The data is copied in. Each month someone exports from the ERP and pastes into the workbook. The figures are stale from the moment of export, and a missed row is hard to see.
- No record of changes. A workbook does not show who changed a formula, or when, and versions travel by email.
- Access is all or nothing. Anyone who can open the file sees every company and every figure in it.
- Approvals happen in email. A payment or a journal is approved in a reply, which is hard to evidence and easy to skip.
- Groups multiply the work. Consolidating several companies in different currencies, with intercompany eliminations, across linked workbooks is slow and fragile.
- Key-person risk. The person who built the workbook is often the only one who understands it.
Naarvin and spreadsheets, side by side
| Task | Spreadsheets | Naarvin |
|---|---|---|
| Getting the numbers | Export from the ERP and paste in, every month | Reads each company's books on a schedule from your ERP, or from Excel and CSV templates |
| Bank reconciliation | Tick marks against a statement export | Bank lines matched to your books, with every difference flagged |
| Close checklist and sign-off | A tab of tasks and dates, and a sign-off email | Every step with an owner and a date; a month is signed off only when every automatic check passes |
| Accruals and prepayments | Schedules kept by hand | Accruals proposed for approval; prepayments spread over the right months |
| Several companies | Linked workbooks, one per company | All companies combined into one set of numbers, in any currency, with eliminations |
| Explaining a variance | Filtering the ledger export by hand | Every figure opens to its ledger lines, and the CFO Copilot answers in Arabic or English |
| 13-week cash forecast | A model updated by hand each week | The cash coming in and going out over the next 13 weeks |
| Approvals | Email replies | Payments and journals routed by amount; no one approves their own request |
| Audit trail | File versions and email threads | A record of who did what and when, that cannot be edited |
| Access | Whoever opens the file sees everything in it | Each person sees only the companies and the work their role allows |
| One-off analysis | Fast and flexible | Live figures pulled into Excel and Google Sheets for your own models |
| Cost and setup | Licences you already have; no setup | A plan with prices on request; our team connects your systems |
Plans and what each includes are on the pricing page.
How do the close, reporting and cash compare in practice?
The close
On spreadsheets, the close is a checklist tab, a set of reconciliation workbooks and a sign-off email. It works while one person can hold it all in mind. In Naarvin, Close AI keeps the checklist with owners and dates, matches bank lines, proposes accruals and checks recurring entries. A month is signed off only when every automatic check passes, and later postings into it are flagged.
Reporting
A spreadsheet pack is rebuilt each month from exports, and a question from the board means another round of filtering. In Naarvin, reports come from the synced ledgers, every figure opens to its ledger lines, and the CFO Copilot answers from your ledgers in Arabic or English. When the data cannot support an answer, it says so.
Cash
A 13-week cash model in a workbook is only as current as its last update. Treasury AI shows cash across your bank accounts from the ledger and the latest statements, forecasts the cash coming in and going out over the next 13 weeks, and prepares payment files for approval. A person uploads each file to the bank: Naarvin never moves money. Our guide to the 13-week cash flow forecast explains the method, whichever tool you use.
Can you use Naarvin and spreadsheets together?
Yes, and most teams should. When a system has no connector, its books can come in through Excel and CSV templates. In the other direction, your own models can pull live figures into Excel and Google Sheets, so they read from the ledger rather than from last month's export.
When is it time to move off spreadsheets?
These are the usual signs:
- The close often finishes later than your target, and the delay sits in reconciliations and tie-outs rather than in judgement.
- You run more than one company, currency or ERP, and consolidation takes days.
- Auditors ask who prepared, reviewed and approved each item, and you rebuild the answer from email.
- Only one person can run the month-end workbook.
- The board asks questions the pack cannot answer without another round of exports.
If none of these apply, keep your spreadsheets and revisit the question as the business grows. Our comparison of an AI finance department and your ERP's built-in reports covers the other common alternative.
Questions people ask
Do we have to stop using Excel?
No. Keep Excel for models and one-off analysis. Naarvin sends live figures into Excel and Google Sheets, so your workbooks read from the ledger instead of a pasted export.
Can Naarvin bring in our existing spreadsheets?
Yes, for books kept in systems without a connector. Excel and CSV templates bring in the chart of accounts, trial balances, journals, invoices and bills, by company and period.
Is Naarvin worth it for a single company?
It depends on your volume and your controls. If one company closes on time on spreadsheets with a proper review, the case is weaker. The Starter plan covers one company with Close AI and Reporting AI, and we share prices when you book a demo.
Can the AI make up a number?
Figures come from the ledgers through the product's own finance functions, not from the language model, and every figure opens to its source records. When the data cannot support an answer, the Copilot says so.
Who sets Naarvin up?
Our team connects your systems and matches your accounts on every plan. On Starter, a consultant guides you through the rest. On Standard and Enterprise, our team runs the full implementation up to your first month end.