Comparison
Excel or software to run your centre?
Lots of centres start out on a spreadsheet, and that's normal. Here's what Excel does well, and when it starts costing you time and money.
In short
Excel is enough for a few groups. As soon as you can't tell at a glance who has paid this month, or teacher pay takes you an evening, software gives you that time back.
What Excel does well
- It's free, or already in your Office subscription
- You already know it
- You can shape it exactly the way you want
What MyCentreKey does instead
That's us- Invoices create themselves at sign-up and renewal
- Instalments and late payments tracked without formulas
- Every day, who to chase, with the WhatsApp message already written
- Attendance and timetables linked to the same students
- Teacher pay worked out, with a PDF payslip
- Several people up to date at once, with no copies of the file
Side by side
| Criterion | That's usMyCentreKey | Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 199 DH/month (Starter), 399 DH/month (Growth), no commitment | Free, or included in Microsoft 365 |
| Students included | 150 (Starter), 500 (Growth) | No limit, but everything is done by hand |
| Billing and payments | In every plan: cash, cheque, transfer, in instalments | You build and maintain it yourself |
| Trial | First month free | — |
| Kind of software | Online, in the browser (computer, tablet, phone), nothing to install | A file, on one computer or in the cloud |
| App languages | French, English (Arabic in progress) | Whatever you type |
| Parent access | No parent accounts today | No |
| Teacher pay | Per student, by the hour or by percentage, PDF payslip | Formulas you write and check yourself |
| Chasing parents | Daily list and a ready-written WhatsApp message (sent by you) | By hand, by reading through the file |
| Several centres | Up to 3 centres (Growth), more on Enterprise | One file per centre |
- Yes
- Partly, or on some plans
- No
- Not stated
A free Excel template for your centre
Not ready for software yet? Take our template: groups, students, payments in instalments, and a sheet that shows for each month who has paid, who has paid part and who hasn't. The template is in French.
Frequently asked questions
There's no exact number. The sign is when you lose time looking for who has paid, copying lists, or recalculating pay.
Not yet. Adding a student and putting them in a group is one step, and you can add several students to a group at once.
From 199 DH a month for 150 students, every feature included, first month free and no commitment.
Other comparisons
Ready to run your centre from one place?
Book a demo and see how enrollment, scheduling, and billing come together in MyCentreKey.