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Cayro vs spreadsheets and paper checklists

Most businesses start with paper checklists and spreadsheets, and for good reason: they're free and everyone knows how to use them. This page compares them honestly with Cayro, including when sticking with spreadsheets makes sense.

	Spreadsheets & paper	Cayro
Cost	Free or nearly free.	From $39/month for Cayro Ops, with optional add-ons and a 14-day free trial.
Proof a check was done	A tick or initials; easy to fill in later.	Who completed each item and when, with photos where you require them.
Problems found during a check	Written in a margin; someone has to notice and act.	A failed item can open an incident with a severity, an owner and a response target, and escalates if it goes overdue.
Recurring tasks	Copied by hand each week; easy to forget.	Created automatically on schedule, in each location's time zone.
Several locations	A file per site, emailed or shared; hard to compare.	One account, access per location, and side-by-side comparisons in Insights.
Who can see what	Anyone with the file sees everything in it.	Role-based permissions, limited by location and enforced on the server.
History and audit	Overwritten or lost; version history at best.	A permanent audit log of important actions.
Setup effort	None to start.	An afternoon to add locations, people and your first checklists.

Spreadsheets are probably enough if…

You run one location with a handful of people and a short daily routine.
Nobody needs to check the work remotely or see history.
You don't need follow-ups when something fails.

Cayro is worth it when…

You have more than one location, or more than one shift.
You need proof that checks happened, for inspectors, insurers or head office.
Problems found in checks get lost before anyone fixes them.
You spend time each week copying, chasing or combining spreadsheets.

Moving off paper? Start with a free opening checklist or incident report form, then see how Cayro Ops runs them.

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