When should we move off spreadsheets?

Usually when more than one person approves leave, or when balances and document expiry dates start to be wrong. Birch is free for up to 10 employees, so moving costs nothing.

Compare

Birch vs Spreadsheets

A spreadsheet for leave, a chat group for approvals and a shared folder for documents costs nothing and works for a handful of people. It gets harder as the team grows.

Spreadsheets focus: Manual tracking
Spreadsheets pricing: Free with the spreadsheet tool you already have.

Side by side.

Where they differBirchSpreadsheets

Leave balancesBirchUpdated when leave is approvedSpreadsheetsEdited by hand

ApprovalsBirchIn the app, with escalation after a few daysSpreadsheetsIn chat or email

Document expiryBirchTracked, with remindersSpreadsheetsWhatever calendar reminders you set

Who can see whatBirchFive roles, scoped to your companySpreadsheetsAnyone with the link

Record of changesBirchAudit log of HR changesSpreadsheetsVersion history at best

CostBirchFree up to 10 employeesSpreadsheetsFree

Only rows where the two differ. Checked 15 October 2026.

Where Spreadsheets is strong

No cost and nothing new to learn
Fully flexible

Where Spreadsheets falls short

Balances are only as right as the last person who edited the formula
Approvals live in chat, so there is no record
No reminders for expiring documents

Spreadsheets is best for

Very small teams with simple leave and few documents.

Why teams pick Birch

Birch keeps the same free price for up to 10 employees and removes the hand-kept balances, chat approvals and missed expiry dates.

Questions

Birch and Spreadsheets.

When should we move off spreadsheets?: Usually when more than one person approves leave, or when balances and document expiry dates start to be wrong. Birch is free for up to 10 employees, so moving costs nothing.

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