Excel or Workload for capacity planning?
Excel works to start (< 15 IT staff, few projects). Workload makes sense from 30–50 IT staff or many parallel projects: automatic overload detection, consolidated capacity view, timesheet integrations — 14-day free trial, from $59/month. Typical ROI by saving 5–10 h/week of manual consolidation.
Features by plan
Jira Tempo, Azure DevOps, and Toggl integrations from the Professional plan
The Starter plan includes the full trial and CSV import; native integrations start on Professional.
Compare plans →Excel vs Workload
Excel is where many IT departments start. Workload automates what spreadsheets can't: real-time conflicts, net capacity, timesheet, and IT portfolio.
Last updated :
Switch to Workload if…
- Multiple shared Excel files and version conflicts
- Can't see overload in real time
- Manual consolidation > 5 h/week
- Need to link planned (capacity) and actual (timesheet)
- IT team > 30 people or portfolio > 10 projects
Excel is still enough if…
- Small IT team (< 15 people)
- Few simultaneous projects (< 5)
- Single master file, few changes
- No timesheet or CIO reporting need
Frequently asked questions
Can we migrate from Excel to Workload?
Yes. Workload imports CSV/Excel with mapping wizard (teams, projects, allocations). Most IT departments migrate in one day.
What ROI when leaving Excel?
IT departments typically save 5–10 h/week on consolidation, reduce undetected overload, and speed up capacity trade-offs. Use our ROI calculator at /calculator-roi.
Do we have to abandon Excel completely?
No. Many customers export from Workload to Excel for ad-hoc analysis. Workload becomes the capacity source of truth; Excel remains an export tool.