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LightCater vs Spreadsheets

Stop running your venue
from a spreadsheet.

Excel and Google Sheets are free — until you count the double-bookings, version-control fights, late invoices and Sunday-night admin marathons they actually cost. Here's the honest comparison.

What spreadsheets cost you (that you can't see)

Four hidden costs of running on Excel.

The double-booking risk

One filter mis-applied, one sort that scrambles the rows, and the Grand Hall is booked for two events on the same Saturday. Spreadsheets have no conflict warnings. LightCater does.

Six versions of the same proposal

"Final-FINAL-v3-with-Maria-edits.xlsx." Email attachments, copy-paste errors, the number that didn't get updated. LightCater stores one record per event; every change is logged.

The Sunday-night admin marathon

Re-typing the same numbers into three documents: proposal, contract, invoice. BEO from scratch every Friday. LightCater builds them all from one record, in one click each.

Money you forgot to chase

Spreadsheets don't track deposits owed vs received vs cleared. They don't email a balance reminder when the event is 14 days out. LightCater does that automatically.

Side by side

What you get with each, honestly.

Capability Spreadsheets (Excel / Google Sheets) LightCater
Conflict / double-booking warnings None — relies on you reading the grid carefully Yes — visual + warning when you try to overlap
One source of truth per event No — usually 3–6 separate files per booking Yes — one customer record, one event, one workflow
Branded client-facing proposals Possible but manual; usually exported to PDF and emailed Built-in — branded, online, accepted in the browser
One-click convert proposal → contract → invoice No — re-type or copy-paste between files Yes — same figures, no transcription errors
Banquet Event Order (BEO) generation Manual — rebuild from scratch each event Automatic — printable BEO from the event record
Deposit + payment tracking Manual columns you maintain by hand Built-in — sent / received / outstanding, per event
E-signature Need a separate e-signature tool at extra cost Built in — sent / opened / signed status, no add-on fee
Audit log — who changed what, when No — Excel revision history is shallow at best Yes — every field change captured with user + timestamp
Multi-user editing without conflicts Google Sheets supports it; Excel only with online file Yes — purpose-built for team collaboration
Multi-language client documents DIY — separate template files per language EN / DE / FR / IT / ES with one click
Mobile access Works, but cramped on phones Designed for mobile — manageable on the floor
Direct cost $0 (or Microsoft 365 ~$6–22/user/mo) from $39/month Self-Service or $59/month With 24/7 Support
True cost (time saved) ~4–8 hours/week of admin per coordinator ~1–2 hours/week — flat workflows do the busywork
Honest answer

When spreadsheets are actually fine.

We're not anti-spreadsheet. If any of these describe your venue, stay where you are — even LightCater's $39/month Self-Service plan would be overkill.

  • You run fewer than ~3 events a month and they're all simple drop-offs
  • One person does everything — no team collaboration needed
  • Clients never need branded proposals or signed contracts
  • You enjoy the spreadsheet work itself

If none of those describe you — if you're running 8+ events a month, have a team, send proposals to clients, or you're spending Sunday nights catching up on admin — that's exactly the gap LightCater closes.

FAQ

Spreadsheets vs LightCater — common questions.

Is catering software actually better than a spreadsheet?
For a busy venue, yes — but only once volume and complexity pass a certain point. LightCater adds what a spreadsheet can't: double-booking warnings, one record per event, built-in e-signature, and one-click proposal-to-contract-to-invoice with no re-typing. If you run fewer than about three simple events a month, work solo, and never send branded proposals, a spreadsheet is genuinely fine and even our $39/month Self-Service plan would be overkill.
When are spreadsheets good enough for event management?
Spreadsheets are good enough when you run fewer than roughly three events a month, they're all simple drop-offs, one person does everything, and clients never need branded proposals or signed contracts. If you also enjoy the spreadsheet work itself, stay where you are. The gap only opens once you have a team, send client-facing documents, or start losing Sunday nights to admin.
What does running a venue on Excel actually cost?
The direct cost is near zero, but the hidden cost is time and mistakes: roughly four to eight hours of admin per coordinator per week re-typing figures into proposals, contracts, invoices and BEOs, plus the risk of double-bookings, missed deposits, and version chaos across "final-v3" files. LightCater typically cuts that to one to two hours a week because the workflows do the busywork. Plans start at $39/month for Self-Service or $59/month with 24/7 support, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required.
How do I stop double-booking rooms without a spreadsheet?
Spreadsheets have no conflict warnings — one mis-applied filter or scrambled sort and the Grand Hall gets booked twice on the same Saturday. LightCater shows a visual calendar and warns you the moment you try to overlap two events in the same space, so the double-booking is caught before it happens rather than discovered on the day.
Can I migrate my event spreadsheet into LightCater?
Yes — you can move your existing events and client details across and start running real bookings during the 14-day free trial, no credit card needed. The best approach is to set up your actual upcoming events in LightCater, run them through the app, and compare directly to your current spreadsheet workflow before deciding. If you'd like a hand, book a demo and the team can walk you through it.

Try LightCater free for 14 days.

Set up your real events, run them through the app, compare to your current spreadsheet workflow. Decide after you've used it. No credit card to start.

Start free trial Book a demo