HAF Management Software vs Spreadsheets: Which Is Better for Local Authorities?

When the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme was first rolled out nationally in 2021, most local authorities managed it using spreadsheets, email, and a patchwork of generic tools. Five years on, the programme has grown in complexity and scale, and many authorities are asking whether spreadsheets are still up to the job. This guide provides an honest comparison of purpose-built HAF management software against spreadsheet-based approaches, helping you decide which is right for your authority.

What you'll learn: The strengths and limitations of both approaches, with specific comparisons across the key functions of HAF delivery.

Key question: At what point does the cost of software become lower than the hidden cost of managing HAF on spreadsheets?

Real-world context: How authorities that have transitioned from spreadsheets to Plinth describe the difference.

TL;DR — Software vs Spreadsheets for HAF

Spreadsheets are familiar, flexible, and free — but they create significant hidden costs when used to manage complex, multi-stakeholder programmes like HAF. The key issues are: data quality degrades as multiple people access and edit shared files; eligibility checking and attendance tracking require manual processes that do not scale; DfE reporting requires extensive manual compilation; and there is no family-facing booking interface. Purpose-built HAF software like Plinth addresses all of these issues but requires budget and buy-in. For most authorities managing programmes of any significant scale, the staff time saved by software exceeds the subscription cost within the first holiday period.

The Spreadsheet Approach: How It Typically Works

Many local authorities have developed sophisticated spreadsheet-based systems for HAF management. A typical setup includes:

Master provider spreadsheet: A workbook tracking all approved providers, their compliance status, contact details, session details, and funding allocations.

Eligibility database: A spreadsheet containing FSM-eligible children, cross-referenced against school census data, used to verify bookings manually.

Booking tracker: A spreadsheet (or set of spreadsheets) logging bookings from families, often fed by Google Forms, email requests, or phone calls.

Attendance registers: Templates distributed to providers, completed during the holidays, and returned by email for consolidation.

Reporting workbook: A master spreadsheet that pulls together data from all the above sources to generate DfE Q36 and Q38 returns.

Email: The glue holding everything together — used for provider communication, document collection, booking confirmations, and attendance data collection.

This approach works. Many authorities have delivered excellent HAF programmes using spreadsheets. But it works at a cost that is often underestimated.

The Hidden Costs of Spreadsheets

The direct financial cost of spreadsheets is near zero. The hidden costs are substantial.

Staff Time

Managing HAF on spreadsheets is intensely labour-intensive. Based on feedback from local authorities, typical time costs include:

Over three holiday periods per year, the difference can be 250–500+ hours — equivalent to 3–6 months of a full-time post.

Data Quality

Spreadsheets are inherently prone to data quality issues when multiple people access and edit them:

Version control: When multiple team members work on shared spreadsheets, version conflicts arise. Data entered in one version may be overwritten or lost when another version is saved.

Inconsistent formatting: Different users enter data in different formats — dates, postcodes, names, ethnicity codes. This creates significant cleanup work at reporting time.

Formula errors: Complex spreadsheets with hundreds of formulas are fragile. A single misplaced formula can cascade errors through dependent calculations, sometimes without being noticed until reporting.

Duplicate records: Without automated deduplication, the same child may appear multiple times in the booking tracker — particularly if they book through different channels or attend multiple providers.

Human error: Manual data entry inevitably introduces errors. Studies consistently show that 1–5% of manually entered data contains errors, which compounds across thousands of records.

Operational Risk

Single point of failure: If the person who built and maintains the spreadsheet system leaves, institutional knowledge goes with them. Complex workbooks with custom formulas and macros are difficult for others to maintain.

No audit trail: Spreadsheets do not track who changed what and when. If data is accidentally deleted or modified, there is often no way to recover or understand what happened.

Scalability ceiling: Spreadsheet systems that work adequately for small programmes break down as the programme grows. Adding more providers, more sessions, and more children eventually overwhelms manual processes.

These hidden costs are real but often invisible because they are absorbed by the HAF team as "just part of the job."

The Software Approach: What Purpose-Built Platforms Offer

Purpose-built HAF management software like Plinth is designed specifically for the operational requirements of HAF delivery. Here is what these platforms typically provide.

Integrated Booking System

Family-facing portal: Families can browse sessions, check eligibility, and book places online — with mobile-responsive design and accessibility features. This replaces the combination of Google Forms, phone lines, and email that spreadsheet-based programmes typically rely on.

Real-time capacity management: Available places update automatically as bookings are made, preventing overbooking and showing families what is available right now rather than relying on a spreadsheet that may not reflect the latest bookings.

Waiting lists: Automated waiting lists that notify families when places become available, maximising take-up without manual management.

Automated Eligibility Checking

Instant verification: FSM eligibility is checked automatically when families register or book, eliminating the manual cross-referencing that consumes hours of staff time. Plinth verifies eligibility in seconds rather than the 5–15 minutes per booking that manual checking requires.

Consistent recording: The eligibility basis (benefits-related FSM, transitional protection, or 15% discretionary) is recorded consistently for every child, flowing directly into DfE reporting.

Digital Provider Management

Self-service onboarding: Providers complete applications and upload documents through a portal, rather than sending multiple emails with attachments. The system tracks what has been submitted and what is outstanding.

Compliance dashboard: The HAF team can see at a glance which providers are fully approved, which have outstanding items, and which need attention — without maintaining a manual tracking spreadsheet.

Real-Time Attendance Tracking

Digital registers: Providers record attendance through the platform, with data flowing to the local authority in real time. No more collecting paper registers by email after the holidays and manually entering them into spreadsheets.

Discrepancy detection: The system can flag discrepancies between bookings and attendance, helping identify no-shows, unbooked attendees, and other issues.

One-Click DfE Reporting

Q36 and Q38 generation: Because all data — bookings, eligibility, attendance, demographics, activity types — is captured consistently in one system, DfE returns can be generated with a click rather than compiled over days or weeks.

Validation built in: The platform validates data against DfE requirements before report generation, catching errors before submission rather than after.

Head-to-Head Comparison

When Spreadsheets Still Make Sense

Despite their limitations, spreadsheets are the right choice in some circumstances:

Very small programmes: If your authority has a small FSM-eligible population and works with fewer than 10 providers, the volume may not justify a software subscription. The manual processes are manageable at small scale.

Budget constraints: If there is genuinely no budget for software and no prospect of securing any, spreadsheets are better than nothing. Some authorities use HAF administrative funding to cover software costs, but this is not always possible.

One-off analysis: Spreadsheets remain excellent for ad-hoc analysis, data exploration, and one-off tasks. Even authorities using software often use spreadsheets for specific analytical work alongside their platform.

Transition period: When moving to software, spreadsheets may continue in parallel for one holiday period to ensure continuity and build confidence in the new system.

The question is not whether spreadsheets can do the job — they can. The question is whether the total cost (including hidden costs) is higher or lower than the alternative.

When Software Becomes Essential

For most authorities, there is a tipping point beyond which spreadsheets become more costly than software. Common indicators include:

Scale: More than 20 providers and 2,000+ bookings per holiday period. At this scale, manual processes consume unsustainable amounts of staff time.

DfE reporting stress: If compiling Q36 and Q38 returns consistently takes more than a week and involves significant stress, the data infrastructure is not fit for purpose.

Data quality issues: If DfE returns are regularly queried for data quality problems (duplicates, missing demographics, eligibility inconsistencies), the root cause is usually the manual processes that produce the data.

Staff turnover risk: If the HAF programme would be seriously disrupted by the departure of one or two key people, the knowledge is too concentrated in individuals rather than systems.

Family complaints: If families regularly report difficulty finding sessions, booking places, or receiving confirmation, the front-end experience needs improvement.

Provider frustration: If providers are frustrated by the administrative burden of email-based onboarding and paper-based attendance recording, a better system would improve the partnership.

For most authorities managing programmes of any significant scale, the transition point has already been reached — the hidden costs of spreadsheets exceed the cost of purpose-built software.

Making the Business Case

If you are considering the transition from spreadsheets to software, here is how to build the business case.

Quantifying Hidden Costs

Calculate the staff time currently spent on manual HAF processes:

1. Estimate hours per task using the table above as a starting point
2. Multiply by staff cost (including on-costs) to get a monetary value
3. Compare with software cost (subscription fee)

For most authorities, the staff time saved in a single holiday period exceeds the annual software subscription.

Qualitative Benefits

Beyond time savings, the business case should include:

• Improved DfE reporting accuracy and reduced query risk
• Better family experience leading to higher take-up among target cohort
• Reduced operational risk from staff turnover
• Better data for programme improvement and impact demonstration
• Improved provider relationships through streamlined processes

Funding Sources

HAF software can typically be funded from:

• The administrative element of HAF funding (most authorities allocate 5–10% for administration)
• Local authority digital transformation budgets
• Efficiency savings from reduced manual processing

Frequently Asked Questions

Can we use our existing council systems instead of specialist software?

Some authorities have explored using existing council systems — such as their website CMS, CRM, or social care systems — for HAF. While this can work for specific functions (like provider database management), these systems are rarely designed for the full HAF workflow. They typically lack family-facing booking, FSM eligibility integration, real-time attendance tracking, and DfE reporting capabilities. Purpose-built HAF platforms like Plinth are designed for the complete workflow.

What is the typical cost of HAF management software?

Costs vary by provider and authority size. Purpose-built HAF platforms are typically offered on an annual subscription basis, with pricing scaled to the size of the programme. While we cannot quote specific prices for all platforms here, the cost is typically a small fraction of overall HAF funding and is designed to be fundable from the administrative element of HAF grants. Contact Plinth directly for pricing tailored to your authority.

How long does it take to set up a new platform?

Most purpose-built HAF platforms can be set up in 2–4 weeks, including configuration, data migration, and initial training. The ideal time to implement is between holiday periods — for example, setting up after Easter for a summer launch. Plinth provides implementation support to ensure the platform is ready before your next delivery period.

Will providers actually use the system?

Provider adoption is a common concern but is rarely a significant issue in practice. Purpose-built platforms are designed to make providers' lives easier (self-service onboarding, digital attendance recording, real-time booking visibility), and most providers welcome the reduction in paperwork. Clear communication about the benefits, combined with training and support, ensures smooth adoption. Authorities using Plinth report high provider satisfaction and adoption rates.

Can we migrate our existing spreadsheet data?

Yes. Most platforms support data migration from existing spreadsheets, including provider records, historical attendance data, and family registrations. This means you do not lose historical data when transitioning. However, data migration is also an opportunity to clean up data quality issues — so some effort is needed to prepare spreadsheet data for import.

Conclusion & Call to Action

The choice between spreadsheets and software ultimately comes down to total cost — not just the direct financial cost, but the full cost including staff time, data quality, operational risk, and family experience.

Spreadsheets are not free: The hidden costs of managing HAF on spreadsheets — staff time, data errors, reporting stress, and operational risk — are substantial and grow as programmes scale.

Software pays for itself: For most authorities, the staff time saved in a single holiday period exceeds the annual software subscription, while also improving data quality and family experience.

The right time is now: Between holiday periods is the ideal time to evaluate and implement a new platform, ensuring it is ready for the next delivery period.

Purpose-built HAF management software is not a luxury — it is a practical investment that reduces cost, improves quality, and frees HAF coordinators to focus on what matters: delivering excellent provision for children.

Ready to compare options? Book a demo of Plinth to see how it compares with your current spreadsheet-based approach.

Recommended Next Pages

• What Is the HAF Programme? – A comprehensive overview of the Holiday Activities and Food programme.

• Best Booking Systems for HAF Programmes – Comparing booking system options for HAF.

• How to Complete HAF DfE Reporting – Why good data infrastructure is essential for Q36 and Q38 returns.

• FSM Eligibility Checking for HAF – Manual vs automated approaches to eligibility verification.

• How to Onboard HAF Providers – Streamlining provider management with digital tools.

• How to Track HAF Attendance – Digital attendance tracking that replaces paper registers.

Last updated: February 2026

For more information about HAF management software, contact our team or schedule a demo.