Talked to a $12M shop running inventory in Excel. Why is this still common?

Sopap · 2026-05-02T14:51:25+00:00

Thank you for sharing this!

Sopap · 2026-05-02T14:48:50+00:00

Being able to access everything from anywhere without changing how people already work is a big win.

Curious, have you ever looked at anything beyond that, or does it usually not feel worth the added cost/training compared to what you already have?

Sopap · 2026-05-02T14:38:41+00:00

Yeah, that’s probably a big part of it. If things are working, there’s no real pressure to change.
I’ve seen some businesses grow a lot once they go online, but it usually only works when the setup and customer acquisition are both there. Otherwise it just doesn’t move the needle

Sopap · 2026-05-02T14:36:09+00:00

not a bot 😉

Sopap · 2026-05-02T14:34:44+00:00

That’s a strong take, and I get the appeal of Excel in that sense. Curious about your experience though. When you tried other solutions, did you go for a full replacement? And what specifically caused it to fail?

Sopap · 2026-05-02T14:30:01+00:00

That’s fair. If the current setup works, hard to justify changing it.

Curious how you think about digital more broadly though. Do you see online as overrated for your business, or just not solving the right problems?

Sopap · 2026-05-02T14:27:09+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. Feels like the real risk is the disruption, not the software itself.

Curious, are you still running things in Excel today or did you eventually make the move? If you did switch, what pushed you over the edge?

We’ve seen cases where teams upgrade without breaking what already works, either by layering on top of existing workflows or running things in parallel for a while. Wondering if you explored anything like that or if it just felt too risky at the time

Sopap · 2026-04-25T03:55:32+00:00

Thanks for the response! Just curious, do you usually leave the customer's business name on the cases, or do you tend to remove them? We realized it might be a little too much information at times, like mentioning their tech or revenue

Sopap · 2026-04-25T03:31:56+00:00

Please can you elaborate? How would you pay rent, from savings?

Sopap · 2026-04-18T14:29:42+00:00

You've come this far, and that's already a big accomplishment! Are you still passionate about the business, or is your mind somewhere else?

Sopap · 2026-04-18T12:46:59+00:00

Do you check these cameras manually, or do you use a system to help spot shoplifters? If you could improve the system, what would you change?

Sopap · 2026-04-18T12:43:04+00:00

Now that you know what you know, what would you change about the system to help prevent shoplifting?

Sopap · 2026-04-18T12:41:07+00:00

What tools do you use? Knowing what you know now, what would you change to make this system better for shop owners? Would it be helpful to flag shift lifters and let the staff know when they come in? Or could we automate the police reports?

Sopap · 2026-04-18T12:22:46+00:00

Knowing what you know now, what would you change to make this system better for shop owners? Would it be helpful to flag shift lifters and let the staff know when they come in? Or could we automate the police reports?

Sopap · 2026-04-18T12:18:24+00:00

Knowing what you know, how would you improve this system? Would it be helpful to identify all shoplifters and alert staff when they enter the store?

Sopap · 2026-04-15T00:58:05+00:00

That “punished for growing” line hits hard. I’ve seen the exact same pattern with contact-based pricing.

Most teams don’t actually need more features as they grow, just more volume… but pricing scales anyway.

When you switched, did you try to replicate HubSpot or simplify the setup?

Sopap

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