Larevis vs. Excel and Google Maps
Most field contractors keep jobs in a spreadsheet, locations in Google Maps and documents in a folder on a shared drive. With a handful of jobs, that works. This page describes plainly where it starts to grind and what Larevis does differently.
In short
A spreadsheet and Google Maps are enough when one person enters the jobs and there are only a few a year. Larevis pays off when there are dozens of jobs, several people work on them, a technician needs the details on a phone in the field, or you want an up-to-date project map on your website without manual work - and without the risk of a client's address or a price getting out.
Point by point
| Excel + Google Maps | Larevis | |
|---|---|---|
| One place per job | A spreadsheet row, a map pin and a folder on a drive, all separate | One job: location, client, status, dates, documents |
| Job map | Copied by hand from the spreadsheet to Google Maps, and again on every change | The job is on the map as soon as it's entered, by address or GPS |
| Job status | A column or a pin colour, depending on who entered it | Fixed statuses from enquiry to done, filter on both the map and the list |
| References on your website | A separate map or page that someone updates by hand | A finished job goes to the public map in one click, the website updates itself |
| Sensitive data on the public map | Up to a person to check; exact addresses and notes slip out easily | The public map reads different data: no prices or contacts, location rounded to ~100 m |
| Approval before publishing | No | Yes (Company plan) |
| Change history | File version history, not per job | Yes, for every job |
| Working on a phone in the field | A spreadsheet opens on a phone, but it's awkward | The map and job entry are built for phones |
| Invoicing and accounting | No (a spreadsheet as a table, yes) | No, and it won't. Larevis runs alongside your accounting system |
| Price | Often already paid for, or free | Monthly subscription by number of users, 14 days free |
When a spreadsheet and Google Maps are enough
Leave things as they are if most of this is true:
- one person enters the jobs and knows them,
- there are a few a year, not dozens,
- nobody in the field needs to look up job details,
- you don't bother with references on your website, or updating them once a year is enough.
A spreadsheet is free, everyone knows it and there's nothing to learn. That's a real advantage, and Larevis doesn't beat it.
Where it starts to grind
Two places, two truths. An address gets fixed in the spreadsheet, but the pin on the map stays where it was. A year later nobody knows which version is right.
More people, more versions. Copies of the spreadsheet in email, on the drive and on phones. Everyone records job status differently, so a filter for "in progress" doesn't work.
A technician on site without the details. The address in a text message, the drawing on a drive, the contact in a colleague's phone. You can open a spreadsheet on a phone, but you can't really work in it.
Website references go stale. Someone has to add to the projects page by hand, and there's never time. A customer looking for what you've done nearby sees how things stood two years ago.
A shared map shows more than it should. When the map the company uses internally is shared as references, exact client addresses, notes or prices get out. Someone has to watch for that on every change.
What Larevis does differently
- One job, one place. Location, client, status, dates, person in charge, documents and change history are together. The map and the list are two views of the same data.
- Fixed statuses. Enquiry, quote, ordered, planned, in progress, done. Filtering by status switches both the map and the list.
- The public map is separate data. Only an approved description of a finished job goes to your website, with the location rounded to roughly 100 m and no prices, contacts or documents. Enquiries can't be published at all.
- On your website with one line. The project map embeds in WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or a hand-built site - anywhere you can paste an HTML block - and updates itself.
- A phone in the field. Enter a job and take the location from GPS right on site.
What Larevis doesn't do: invoicing, accounting or stock. Smaller companies use it as their only job record; larger ones use it alongside their accounting system or CRM.
Switching without retyping
We migrate jobs from Excel, CSV, uMap and Google My Maps (exported as KML or a spreadsheet) into Larevis - nothing gets retyped by hand. Migration is included in the Company plan; for other plans we agree based on scope. You can export back to a spreadsheet at any time - your data is yours.
Larevis starts at €10.90 per month, and the first 14 days are free. Current plans are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I track jobs in Excel and Google Maps?
Yes, and with a handful of jobs a year it's a sensible setup. The trouble comes with volume and with more people: the spreadsheet and the map drift apart, every change is entered twice, and your website keeps showing old references because someone has to copy them over by hand.
When is it worth switching from a spreadsheet to Larevis?
When several people enter jobs, when there are dozens a year, when a technician in the field needs the job details on a phone, or when you want an up-to-date project map on your website without manual work.
Why not just share a Google Maps map as references?
You can, but the public map then tends to be a copy of internal data: exact client addresses, notes or prices slip into it easily, and someone has to update it by hand. In Larevis the public map is separate data - only approved jobs, no prices or contacts, location rounded to roughly 100 metres.
How do I get my jobs from a spreadsheet or Google Maps into Larevis?
We migrate jobs from Excel, CSV, uMap and Google My Maps (exported as KML or a spreadsheet) into Larevis, so you don't retype anything. Migration is included in the Company plan; for other plans we agree based on scope.
Does Larevis replace spreadsheets completely?
As a job record, yes: client, location, status, dates, documents and history. Larevis doesn't do invoicing, accounting or stock; that stays in your accounting system or a spreadsheet.