Nett vs Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are the most common “solution” for startup cash tracking. Here's why they break.
The spreadsheet problem
Every founder starts with a spreadsheet. You build it on a Sunday afternoon, it feels great for a week, and then life happens. You miss an update. Then another. Three weeks later, the numbers are fiction.
The spreadsheet isn't wrong on the day you build it. It's wrong on every day you don't update it. And the worst part: it never tells you it's stale.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Nett | Spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|
| Update frequency | Structured — prompts you when stale | When you remember |
| Setup time | 5 minutes | Hours to build |
| Deferred revenue | Manual formula | |
| Tax reserve tracking | DIY or forgotten | |
| Hidden commitments | ||
| Stale data alerts | ||
| Formula-free Safe-to-Spend |
Update frequency
Setup time
Deferred revenue
Tax reserve tracking
Hidden commitments
Stale data alerts
Formula-free Safe-to-Spend
When a spreadsheet might be enough
- You genuinely update your financial model every week and enjoy it
- You have a dedicated finance person handling the numbers
- You need complex multi-entity or investor-grade financial modeling
- You're pre-revenue and have a simple cash-in, cash-out picture
When Nett is the better choice
- You check your bank balance more often than your spreadsheet
- Your spreadsheet hasn't been updated in over a week
- You want deferred revenue calculated the same way every time, not re-derived by hand
- You have annual subscriptions and need deferred revenue tracked properly
- You want one number — Safe-to-Spend — not fifty tabs
Common questions
Can a spreadsheet do everything Nett does?+
In theory, yes. In practice, spreadsheets require constant manual updates and don't flag it when the data's gone stale — you just have to remember. Nett shows an in-app banner once your figures are more than a month old, so the blind spot is visible instead of silent. 50%+ of founders operate with less than 1 month of financial runway visibility.
Is Nett just a fancy spreadsheet?+
Nett structures what a spreadsheet leaves to memory: deferred revenue on a straight-line basis, hidden commitments with alerts, and your Safe-to-Spend computed the same way every time. The formula matters less than whether the data is fresh.
I already built a financial model. Should I switch?+
If you update it weekly and it accounts for deferred revenue, tax reserves, and verbal commitments — keep it. If it's been stale for more than a week, Nett replaces the part of your model that answers 'what can I actually spend today?'
Ready to see what you can actually spend? Try the free calculator or create your free account.
82% of startup failures stem from cash flow mismanagement.
The best spreadsheet is the one you don't need.
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