Paper, Excel, or an app? An honest comparison for your debt book
An honest comparison of a paper debt book, an Excel sheet and a debt-tracking app: getting lost, currencies, reminders, statements, backups, and who each one suits.
There is no single answer for everyone. Here is an honest comparison to help you choose.
The paper book
Good: needs nothing, and everyone knows how to use it.
Not good: gets lost or torn with no copy, adding up by hand goes wrong, it never reminds you of a date, and currencies get mixed.
An Excel sheet
Good: flexible, you can do what you like, and there are copies.
Not good: hard on a phone, one wrong cell ruins the total, no reminders, and you can’t tell who changed what.
A debt book app
Good: recording in seconds on the phone, a balance per person and per currency, reminders, PDF statements, and backups.
Not good: it takes a week to get used to, and some features are on paid plans.
A quick table
| Paper | Excel | App | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gets lost? | Yes | Maybe | No, there’s a backup |
| Several currencies | Mixed up | With effort | Each on its own |
| Due-date reminders | No | No | Yes |
| Statement for the customer | A photo of the page | With effort | PDF in one tap |
| Offline | Yes | Depends | Yes (haeifin) |
Who suits what?
If you have five people and one currency, paper can do. If you have dozens of customers, more than one currency or due dates, an app saves you time and arguments.
Try haeifin: a debt book on your phone, in several currencies, offline. The first month is on us.
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