Where spreadsheets win
Credit where it's due: spreadsheets are free, everyone knows how to use them, there's no setup, and you can shape them however you like. For a simple list, that's hard to beat.
Where spreadsheets fall down for a claim
1. Dates aren't verifiable. A cell says whatever someone typed. Entries can be added or changed weeks later, so there's nothing to prove *when* a delay was actually recorded, which is the first thing a head contractor will question.
2. The evidence lives somewhere else. Photos, dockets and emails sit in other folders and inboxes. The spreadsheet points at nothing, so you're stitching the story back together at claim time.
3. No cost built in. Idle plant and standing labour are the costly part of a delay, and a spreadsheet won't price them for you. (Our Plant Downtime and Labour Standby calculators exist for exactly this.)
4. Version chaos. Three copies, two laptops, one on someone's desktop, and no certainty which is the real one.
5. It's not a claim format. A grid of cells still has to be turned into a notice, a record and a costed claim. The spreadsheet is the start of the work, not the end.
How DelaySolve compares
DelaySolve is purpose-built for the job a spreadsheet wasn't designed for: one dated timeline where the cause, affected works, evidence and cost sit together as the delay happens, then export it in a form the head contractor accepts. It doesn't replace your judgement; it removes the scramble to rebuild a claim from scattered records months later. See how to make a construction delay claim and the records every subcontractor should keep.
So which should you use?
If you're jotting the odd note, a spreadsheet is fine. The moment a delay could turn into a time or cost claim, you want dated entries, evidence attached, and the cost quantified, and that's where a purpose-built record pays for itself. Try the free DelaySolve tools and see how DelaySolve keeps it all in one place.
FAQs
Can I use a spreadsheet for construction delay claims?
You can log delays in one, but it won't prove when entries were made and the supporting evidence lives elsewhere, both things a head contractor can challenge.
What's better than a spreadsheet for tracking site delays?
A structured, dated record that keeps the cause, affected works, evidence and cost together and exports cleanly, rather than a grid that points at files stored elsewhere.
Are spreadsheets enough evidence for an EOT claim?
On their own, rarely. They help as a log, but an EOT claim needs verifiable timing and attached evidence connecting the delay event to the site impact.
