Instead of Excel

From the spreadsheet to time tracking, without a break

Excel is not the problem while three people enter their hours. It becomes one as soon as several write at the same time, somebody overwrites a formula, or the month end has to be typed up. The move takes an afternoon, and the old files stay where they are.

  • The old Excel files stay untouched, nothing is imported
  • The first week runs in parallel, in case you want to compare
  • 14 days free, no credit card

Last checked on14. September 2026

Where the Excel solution actually fails

Not at the arithmetic. A spreadsheet adds hours more reliably than any person. It fails at four other points, and they have nothing to do with Excel and everything to do with a file not being a system.

The typing up at the month end is the most visible of them, but not the most expensive. More expensive is the argument about a figure nobody can trace any more.

  • Several people write at the same time, and the last save wins.
  • An overwritten formula only shows up when the total stops adding up.
  • Who changed which value and when is recorded nowhere.
  • No spreadsheet checks the break and rest period rules of the Working Hours Act.

What happens in the first week

You create the people, give each of them a working time model and decide how they clock in: in the app, in the browser or with a card at the terminal. After that the recording runs, and you see each person's time account with target, actual and balance.

Anyone who wants to keeps the Excel list running for four weeks and compares at the month end. That is not a recommendation but an option: trust in a figure comes faster once it has been held against the old calculation.

What the spreadsheet can do, and what the system does on top

  • Adding hours

    Excel list
    reliable, as long as the formula holds
    MetronHR
    reliable, and nobody can overwrite the formula

  • Several people at the same time

    Excel list
    the last save wins
    MetronHR
    everyone writes into their own record

  • Checking breaks and rest periods under the ArbZG

    Excel list
    not provided for
    MetronHR
    automatically as you enter, with a warning

  • Tracing who changed something

    Excel list
    not possible
    MetronHR
    a change history of the time entries in the Professional plan

  • The month end for payroll

    Excel list
    add up by hand and type up
    MetronHR
    an Excel overview per person at the push of a button

The MetronHR Excel templates stay available free of charge, with or without an account. Anyone working with five people and finishing the month end in twenty minutes does not need software.

What happens to the old files

Nothing. There is no import that reads your spreadsheets and changes something in the process. The old files stay where they are and go on meeting the retention duty for the months gone by.

You start on a cut-off date, usually the first of a month. Everything before it is in the old file, everything after it in the system. That is the simplest separation and the one where nobody maintains data twice.

Frequent questions

What we are asked most often about Instead of Excel.

Past hours are not imported. The move happens on a cut-off date: everything before it stays in the old file and meets the retention duty there, and everything after it comes about in the system. Master data such as names, start dates and weekly hours you create while setting up.

For a business with ten people, an afternoon: create the people, assign a working time model, choose a way of recording. Anyone planning to use a terminal should add the delivery time for the cards.

The 14 days are free and end by themselves, with no credit card and no cancellation. Afterwards there is no minimum term either, and you can export your data as Excel or CSV at any time.

Everybody whose working time has to be recorded, and since the Federal Labour Court decision of 13.09.2022 that is every employee. How they clock in may differ: app, browser and terminal can be mixed in the same business.

Excel costs nothing extra; the time for the month end does. MetronHR costs 5 € per person a month on the Team plan, so 50 € for ten people. The pricing page has a calculator that sets the hours spent adding up against the monthly price.

Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.

Close the next month without typing anything up.

Try it free for 14 days, no credit card. The old Excel list stays where it is.

No credit card, cancel any time

Related

Where to go from here, and what waits for you there.