Volunteer Management Software vs Spreadsheets: Which Is Better?

Volunteer management software is better than spreadsheets for any charity managing more than 20-30 volunteers, offering automated DBS tracking, geographic matching, multi-user access, and reporting that spreadsheets simply cannot replicate. This guide provides a detailed, honest comparison to help you decide whether it is time to make the switch.

TL;DR: Spreadsheets work for very small volunteer programmes (under 20 volunteers) with simple needs. Beyond that threshold, the compliance risks, time costs, and limitations of spreadsheets outweigh their simplicity. Purpose-built software like Plinth pays for itself in reduced admin time, better compliance, and improved volunteer retention. Organisations like Camden Council (2,500 volunteers, 45 charities) and Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea (3,000 volunteers, 163 organisations) demonstrate what becomes possible with the right software.

Who this is for: Volunteer coordinators and charity administrators currently using spreadsheets to manage volunteers.

The Real Cost of Spreadsheets

Most charities start with spreadsheets because they are familiar, free, and flexible. This makes perfect sense when you have a handful of volunteers and simple needs. But as programmes grow, spreadsheets become an increasingly expensive choice — not in licence fees, but in hidden costs.

Time cost: Volunteer coordinators using spreadsheets spend an estimated 8-12 hours per week on administrative tasks that software could automate — data entry, sending reminders, checking DBS expiry dates, generating reports, and reconciling information across multiple files. At an average volunteer coordinator salary of £28,000, that represents £6,000-9,000 in annual staff time.

Error cost: Research by Ray Panko (University of Hawaii) found that 88% of spreadsheets contain errors. When those errors involve DBS check expiry dates or safeguarding records, the consequences can be severe. The Charity Commission has identified poor record-keeping as a factor in multiple safeguarding failures.

Opportunity cost: Time spent wrestling with spreadsheets is time not spent on high-value activities like volunteer recruitment, relationship building, and programme development. According to the NCVO, charities that invest in digital tools report spending 35% more time on strategic activities.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Where Spreadsheets Still Work

To be fair, spreadsheets are not always the wrong choice. They work well in specific circumstances:

Very small programmes: If you manage fewer than 20 volunteers in simple roles with no DBS requirements, a well-structured spreadsheet may be perfectly adequate.

Temporary projects: For a one-off event or short-term project with a defined end date, the overhead of implementing new software may not be justified.

Budget zero: If your organisation genuinely cannot afford any software subscription and has no prospect of funding for it, a well-designed spreadsheet template is better than nothing.

Simple tracking only: If you only need to maintain a basic contact list and do not require compliance tracking, scheduling, or reporting, a spreadsheet may suffice.

However, even in these cases, be honest about whether you are choosing spreadsheets because they are the right tool or because switching feels daunting.

Where Software Wins Decisively

Compliance and Safeguarding

This is the single most compelling reason to move beyond spreadsheets. The Disclosure and Barring Service processes over 5.8 million checks annually in the UK, and charities working with vulnerable groups have legal obligations to maintain current DBS records.

Spreadsheet risk: DBS checks expire, and tracking expiry dates across hundreds of volunteers in a spreadsheet requires constant vigilance. A missed expiry means a volunteer may be working with vulnerable people without a valid check — a serious safeguarding breach. There is no automated alert system; someone must manually review dates regularly.

Software advantage: Plinth provides built-in DBS tracking with automated expiry alerts, compliance dashboards showing organisation-wide status at a glance, and audit trails proving when checks were verified. This transforms DBS compliance from a manual, error-prone process into an automated, reliable system.

According to Charity Commission guidance, trustees have a duty to ensure their organisation has appropriate safeguarding measures in place. Using spreadsheets for compliance tracking in a large volunteer programme arguably falls short of this duty of care.

Scale and Efficiency

The relationship between spreadsheet complexity and volunteer numbers is not linear — it is exponential. As your programme grows, the administrative burden of spreadsheet management grows even faster.

The tipping point: Most organisations hit the spreadsheet tipping point at around 30-50 active volunteers. Beyond this, coordinators report spending more time managing the spreadsheet than managing volunteers. Files become slow, formulas break, and finding information takes longer than it should.

Software at scale: Plinth is designed to handle thousands of volunteers. Camden Council manages 2,500 volunteers across 45 charities on the platform, while Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea coordinates 3,000 volunteers across 163 organisations — scale that would be completely unmanageable with spreadsheets.

Multi-User Collaboration

Charities rarely have just one person who needs access to volunteer information. Coordinators, managers, trustees, and partner organisations may all need to view or update records.

Spreadsheet limitations: Even cloud-based spreadsheets (Google Sheets, Excel Online) struggle with concurrent editing, lack granular access controls, and have no audit trail showing who changed what and when. Version control becomes a nightmare when multiple people work on the same file.

Software advantage: Purpose-built platforms provide role-based access controls, real-time updates visible to all authorised users, complete audit trails, and the ability to share specific information with specific people without exposing the entire database.

Geographic Intelligence

Understanding where your volunteers live is critical for matching them to opportunities, reducing travel barriers, and identifying areas of under-representation.

Spreadsheet limitation: A list of postcodes in a column tells you very little. You cannot visualise geographic distribution, calculate travel distances, or identify gaps in coverage.

Software advantage: Plinth's geographic mapping feature visualises volunteer locations on a map, enabling you to match volunteers to nearby opportunities, identify areas where you need to recruit more, and reduce the travel barriers that cause no-shows. Research from the Institute for Volunteering Research found that travel distance is the third most common reason volunteers stop attending.

Volunteer Self-Service

Modern volunteers expect to manage their own information, browse opportunities, and sign up for shifts online — just as they would with any other service.

Spreadsheet impossibility: Volunteers cannot access, update, or interact with a spreadsheet in any meaningful way. All updates must go through the coordinator, creating a bottleneck and extra administrative work.

Software advantage: Volunteer-facing portals and apps allow volunteers to update their profiles, set availability, browse opportunities, sign up for shifts, and log hours — reducing administrative burden on coordinators while giving volunteers a better experience.

The Migration Checklist

If you have decided to move from spreadsheets to software, here is how to make the transition smooth:

1. Audit your current data: Review your spreadsheets and identify what data you have, what is accurate, and what is missing. Clean up obvious errors before migrating.

2. Define your requirements: List the features you need based on your organisation's specific challenges. Prioritise compliance, scale, and the features that will save the most time.

3. Choose your platform: Compare options using our volunteer management software comparison guide. Consider UK focus, compliance features, multi-organisation support, and ease of use.

4. Plan the migration: Most platforms, including Plinth, support CSV import from spreadsheets. Map your spreadsheet columns to the software's fields and test with a small batch before importing everything.

5. Train your team: Invest time in proper training for all staff who will use the system. Poor adoption is the main reason software implementations fail.

6. Communicate with volunteers: Let your volunteers know about the change, what it means for them, and how to access any volunteer-facing features.

7. Run in parallel: Consider running both systems for 2-4 weeks to ensure nothing is lost in transition before fully retiring your spreadsheets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is volunteer management software worth the cost for small charities?

It depends on your specific situation. If you manage fewer than 20 volunteers with no DBS requirements and simple coordination needs, spreadsheets may be adequate. However, if you have any compliance obligations, manage more than 20-30 volunteers, or find that administrative tasks consume significant coordinator time, the return on investment from software is typically positive within the first few months. Plinth offers tailored pricing to ensure affordability for organisations of all sizes.

Can I use Google Sheets instead of Excel for volunteer management?

Google Sheets offers some advantages over Excel, including real-time collaboration, cloud access, and free pricing. However, it shares the fundamental limitations of all spreadsheets — no automated compliance tracking, no geographic mapping, no volunteer self-service, limited access controls, and no purpose-built reporting. Google Sheets is a better spreadsheet, but it is still a spreadsheet.

How long does it take to migrate from spreadsheets to software?

For a small organisation with clean data, migration can be completed in a few days. For larger organisations or those with messy, inconsistent data, plan for 2-4 weeks including data cleaning, import, testing, and team training. Plinth provides migration support to help ensure a smooth transition.

What if my team resists the change?

Resistance to change is normal. Address it by clearly communicating the benefits (less admin work, fewer compliance risks, better volunteer experience), involving key team members in the selection process, providing thorough training, and acknowledging that there will be a learning curve. Most teams report that the new system saves them time within the first month.

Can spreadsheets be GDPR compliant for volunteer data?

In theory, yes, but in practice it is extremely difficult. GDPR requires access controls (who can see personal data), audit trails (who accessed it and when), data minimisation, consent management, and the ability to respond to subject access requests. Spreadsheets lack built-in tools for any of these requirements, placing the entire compliance burden on manual processes and discipline.

What data should I track about volunteers?

At minimum: name, contact details, emergency contact, role(s), start date, DBS check status and expiry, training completed, hours contributed, and any relevant medical or accessibility needs. Purpose-built software makes it easy to track all of this in structured, searchable fields rather than free-text spreadsheet columns.

Conclusion

The choice between spreadsheets and volunteer management software ultimately comes down to scale, compliance needs, and ambition. Spreadsheets are a reasonable starting point for very small, simple programmes. But for any charity that takes volunteer management seriously — particularly those with DBS obligations, multiple staff, or growth ambitions — purpose-built software like Plinth is a necessary investment.

The real question is not whether you can afford volunteer management software. It is whether you can afford the hidden costs of continuing with spreadsheets — the compliance risks, the wasted coordinator time, and the volunteer attrition caused by disorganised management.

Ready to move beyond spreadsheets? Book a demo of Plinth to see how easy the transition can be.

Recommended Next Pages

• Best Volunteer Management Software for UK Charities – Compare the top platforms and find the right fit for your organisation.

• The Complete Guide to Volunteer Management – Everything you need to know about managing volunteers effectively.

• How to Recruit and Retain Volunteers – Data-driven strategies that work regardless of what tools you use.

• DBS Check Tracking for Volunteers – Why compliance tracking is the most compelling reason to upgrade from spreadsheets.

• How to Track Volunteer Hours and Demonstrate Impact – Move from manual hour counting to automated impact reporting.

• Volunteering Features on Plinth – Explore the platform that replaces your spreadsheets and more.

Last updated: February 2026

For more information about migrating from spreadsheets to volunteer management software, contact our team or schedule a demo.