# Stop rebuilding the same spreadsheet every month

> Spreadsheets are flexible and free, but every report means another export, another paste and another formula check. Compare a monthly Excel or Google Sheets routine with CourtPulse's automatic Playtomic sync.

Canonical page: https://courtspulse.com/compare/courtpulse-vs-spreadsheets

Most clubs start with a spreadsheet, and for good reason: it costs nothing, everyone knows how to use it and you can model anything. The cost shows up later — in the hours spent exporting, cleaning and re-pasting data, and in the formulas nobody dares to touch.

Below is an honest look at where a spreadsheet is still the right tool and where an automatic sync saves more than it costs.

## At a glance

| Capability | CourtPulse | Spreadsheets (Excel / Google Sheets) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Getting data in | Hourly automatic sync from Playtomic's API. | Manual export and paste, every time you want fresh numbers. |
| Occupancy heatmaps | Built in, per court and per sport, in the venue's time zone. | Possible with pivot tables and conditional formatting — and careful handling of time zones and canceled bookings. |
| Player retention and churn | Cohorts and lapsed-player lists computed from full booking history. | Requires de-duplicating players across exports and lookup formulas over every booking. |
| Alerts | Email when a rule triggers, after every sync. | None — you only see a problem when you open the file. |
| Sharing with partners | Scheduled weekly/monthly PDF reports. | Email the file and hope nobody edits the formulas. |
| Custom one-off analysis | Export any dataset to CSV and take it wherever you like. | This is where spreadsheets shine. |
| Cost | $19/month or $190/year after a 14-day free trial. | Free software; the cost is your time. |

## When the alternative is enough

- You review numbers once a quarter and enjoy building the model.
- You need a very specific custom analysis that no product offers.
- Your club is small enough that one export takes a few minutes.

## When CourtPulse fits

- Your monthly report takes more than an hour to assemble.
- You want to know about a problem the day it happens, not at month end.
- More than one person needs to see the same, trustworthy numbers.

## Verdict

Keep the spreadsheet for one-off modelling — CourtPulse exports CSV for exactly that. Let the recurring reporting run itself.

## FAQ

**Can I still use spreadsheets with CourtPulse?**

Yes. Every dataset can be exported as CSV, so you can keep custom models while the routine reports run automatically.

**How long does setup take compared with building a template?**

Connecting Playtomic API credentials takes a few minutes; the first sync backfills recent history automatically.

**Are spreadsheet numbers and CourtPulse numbers the same?**

They come from the same Playtomic data. Differences are usually definitions — for example whether canceled bookings count toward occupancy. CourtPulse documents each metric in its glossary.

**Is there a free option?**

The free calculators on the tools page cover common one-off questions like occupancy rate and off-peak break-even. The product itself has a 14-day free trial.