Comparison
Condominium software or a spreadsheet
Many condominium managers, especially at the start or with only a few buildings, keep the accounts in a spreadsheet. It is flexible and free, but it was never designed for a condominium: it does not know thousandths (millesimi), it does not link expenses to owners' instalments, and it does not produce the annual statement required by Article 1130-bis of the Italian Civil Code on its own. Management software, by contrast, puts the rules of the condominium at the centre and automates allocation, reminders and documents. This comparison sets the two approaches side by side on what really matters: thousandths-based allocation, statutory accounts, traceability of entries and the risk of error, to show when a spreadsheet stops being enough.
Compared
| Criterion | Spreadsheet | Management software |
|---|---|---|
| Thousandths-based expense allocation | Formulas written by hand, redone for every table and every expense | Automatic allocation on the thousandths tables under Articles 1123-1124 |
| Link between expense, instalment and payment | Separate sheets updated manually, with no automatic link | An expense that generates owners' shares and instalments in a single flow |
| Statement under Article 1130-bis | Assembled by hand from several sheets, without the structure the law requires | Accounting register, financial summary and explanatory note produced together |
| Traceability of changes | An overwritten cell leaves no record of who changed it or when | Entry register and change history available for review |
| Reminders and arrears | Manual check of overdue positions, reminders drafted separately | Automatic detection of delays and reminders ready to send |
A spreadsheet does not know the condominium
A spreadsheet is a grid of cells: it does exactly what you write, but it does not know what a thousandth, an ownership table or an expense to be allocated under Article 1123 of the Italian Civil Code is. Every rule of the condominium has to be translated by hand into formulas, and those formulas must be kept aligned every time an owner, a use of a unit or a table changes.
This means that knowledge of the condominium stays in the head of whoever built the sheet. If the file passes to a colleague or a new manager, the formulas become hard to read and correct without risking broken links between tabs.
Thousandths-based allocation: where errors begin
Allocation is the heart of condominium accounting and also the most fragile point in a spreadsheet. General expenses follow ownership thousandths, but many items use different criteria: stairs and lifts under Article 1124, an exclusive-use roof terrace under Article 1126, heating by consumption under standard UNI 10200. Each criterion needs its own table and dedicated formulas.
In a spreadsheet, a shifted cell reference, a row inserted in the wrong place or an inconsistent rounding is enough for the sum of the shares not to match the total expense. The error is often invisible at a glance and only surfaces when an owner disputes their share. Management software applies the same criteria in a structured way and ensures that the sum of the shares always matches the amount allocated.
The statement required by law
Article 1130-bis of the Italian Civil Code, introduced by Law 220 of 2012, states that the annual statement is not a simple list of numbers but a document made up of an accounting register, a financial summary and an explanatory note on the management, including ongoing relationships and pending matters.
Assembling this structure by hand from several sheets is laborious and prone to inconsistency, because the three parts must describe the same management in a verifiable way. Software builds the three documents from the same entries, so the chronological register, the summary and the note stay consistent with each other without duplicate data entry.
Traceability and the memory of entries
In a spreadsheet an overwritten cell leaves no trace: you cannot tell who changed an amount, when or why. If data is deleted by mistake, there is often no way to reconstruct it. This becomes a serious problem when the owners' meeting or an owner asks about an item from the previous year.
Management software records entries in an orderly way and keeps a change history, so the manager can reconstruct the history of every movement. This also touches on the transparency the law requires: being able to show verifiably how a balance was reached is part of accounting for one's own management.
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
For a single small condominium, with few expenses and a manager who knows every detail, a well-built sheet may hold up in the short term. The problem comes with growth: more buildings, more allocation criteria, more reminders to manage and the need to produce consistent statements quickly for meetings.
At that point the time spent maintaining formulas and checking errors outweighs the initial advantage of flexibility. AmministraPro is designed precisely for this transition, with automatic allocation, compliant statements and traceable entries. The available features are described on the /funzioni page, while the plans by number of units managed are on /prezzi, so you can weigh the move without stepping into the unknown.
Frequently asked questions
Is a spreadsheet unlawful for condominium accounting?
No, the law does not require a specific tool: Article 1130-bis of the Italian Civil Code prescribes the content and structure of the statement, not the software used to produce it. A spreadsheet is therefore allowed, but it is up to the manager to ensure the result respects the accounting register, the financial summary and the explanatory note, as well as the correctness of thousandths-based allocation.
Can I move data from my spreadsheet to management software?
Generally yes: most management software allows you to import owner records, thousandths tables and movements from structured files such as spreadsheets. It is worth checking the accepted import formats in advance and tidying the sheet into consistent columns, so the migration picks up historical data without re-entering it by hand.
Does a spreadsheet calculate thousandths correctly if the formulas are right?
Mathematically yes, but the risk is not in the single formula: it is in keeping it aligned when owners, tables or allocation criteria change. Every manual change to cells and references introduces the chance of an error that goes unnoticed until an owner disputes their share. Software reduces this risk by applying the criteria in a structured way.
What difference does traceability of changes make in practice?
When the meeting or an owner asks about an amount from the previous year, being able to show who recorded what and when makes the difference between a verifiable answer and a reconstruction from memory. A spreadsheet overwrites data with no history, while software keeps entries and changes, supporting the transparency of the management.
For a single condominium, is it already worth moving to software?
It depends on complexity: if expenses are few and allocation criteria simple, a well-built sheet may be enough at first. If there are several tables, central heating or arrears to manage, software already pays off on a single building by reducing the time spent on allocation and on assembling the statement.
Try AmministraPro
Accounting, thousandths-based cost splitting, meetings, communications and artificial intelligence in a single Italian software, compliant with UNI 10801 and GDPR.