Cénacle or a spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is often a club's first tool, and for good reason. Here is when it is enough, and when it starts costing more than it gives back.
In short
A spreadsheet is flexible, cheap or free, and everyone knows how to use it. But it is a general-purpose tool: registrations, payments, memberships and prospect follow-up all have to be entered and cross-checked by hand. Cénacle is designed for these club tasks and connects them to one another.
| Criterion | Cénacle | Excel and Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Event registrations | A public registration page for each event; every sign-up lands directly in the attendee list. | A separate form, then copy-paste or a link you build and maintain yourself. |
| Payments | Online payment through Stripe at registration, paid into the club's own account; the 'paid' status updates on its own. | Payment happens elsewhere; you record who has paid by hand. |
| Membership tracking | Plan, start date, end date and remaining dinners tracked for each member. | Columns and formulas that you keep up to date yourself. |
| Seating plan | Assisted guest seating from an imported list or the registrations, exportable to Excel. | Put together by hand, one table at a time. |
| Prospect follow-up (CRM) | A column-based pipeline, scheduled activities, assignment to a salesperson. | Possible with a dedicated tab, without automatic reminders or history. |
| Teamwork | Roles and page-by-page permissions: a salesperson sees only what concerns them. | The whole file is shared, with whatever access settings the tool offers. |
| Personal data | Data kept separate for each club, access based on role, individual unsubscribes handled. | A file that gets passed around, copied and downloaded easily. |
Keep your spreadsheet if…
- Your club has about ten members who know each other and you collect no payments online.
- You hold a few gatherings a year and one person keeps the list.
- You mainly need to note down contacts, not manage registrations or memberships.
Move to Cénacle if…
- You spend more time reconciling payments and registrations than preparing your events.
- Your members hold plans with a number of dinners and an end date to keep an eye on.
- Several people work on the same data and do not all need to see everything.
Moving from a spreadsheet to Cénacle
- 01
Import your members
Export your file as CSV and import it: email, first name, last name, phone, company and profile details are carried over.
- 02
Recreate your upcoming events
Create each event with its date, venue and price: its registration page is ready to share.
- 03
Invite your team
Add the people who help you and choose, for each of them, which pages they can access.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still export my data to Excel?
Yes. Members, registrations, payments and other lists can be exported as CSV, XLSX or PDF.
Does my file need a particular format?
It must contain at least an email column for each member. The other columns (first name, last name, phone, company…) are optional.
Can I try it before moving everything?
The paid plans come with a 14-day trial, so you can test with a few members before moving everything.
Other comparisons
Your circle deserves better than a spreadsheet
Applications, dinners, payments and memberships in one place. Start with a free trial, or see the platform on your own club with the team.