Costframe vs Spreadsheets
A workbook is useful when the analysis needs custom formulas or a small, one-off cost model. Costframe is useful when its supported detectors and retained provider evidence reduce recurring collection work. Neither approach removes the need to reconcile inputs and review assumptions.
Sources checked 19 October 2026. Competitor capabilities are vendor-documented, not hands-on verified. Costframe statements describe the source-reviewed implementation and its limits.
Custom modelling is a spreadsheet strength
Excel and Sheets can model an organization's own allocation policy, forecast assumptions or procurement scenarios without waiting for a vendor feature. A workbook can combine permitted billing exports with other business data. Its model quality depends on the chosen sources and formulas, not the fact that it is a spreadsheet.
Costframe limits analysis to collected provider evidence, configured mappings and implemented rules. It cannot replace an arbitrary financial model. Use a workbook when the decision depends on business inputs that Costframe does not collect.
Protecting formulas is not access control
Microsoft states that worksheet protection prevents edits to locked cells and is not a security feature. File access, encrypted storage and sharing permissions require separate controls. A protected tab alone is not sufficient for cloud credentials or personal data.
Costframe scopes application requests to a verified organization and projects customer-safe resource data. That is a different boundary from cell protection. Exported CSV files still need appropriate access controls after leaving the application.
Source: Microsoft: worksheet protection and its security limits
Count the manual work you actually repeat
The labour calculator below uses visitor-supplied review hours, cadence and rate. It estimates manual work only, not cloud savings and not the amount Costframe will eliminate. Include export preparation and reconciliation when those tasks recur; omit tasks a scheduled workbook refresh already performs.
Costframe Growth can schedule audits, subject to connection readiness and plan limits. Starter audits are manual. A stale or failed collection does not become current evidence merely because a schedule exists.
Estimate the annual review labor.
This only estimates labor. It excludes delayed action, stale exports, formula mistakes, and the cost of re-checking whether a recommendation is still safe.
Estimated annual manual review labor
€28,560
Formula: 28 hours × €85/hour × 12 reviews.
Unverified details
A workbook's existing automation, formula validation and sharing controls must be assessed directly. This page does not assume every spreadsheet is manual, inaccurate or insecure.