ActBook vs a spreadsheet
An honest comparison — from performers, not a sales team.
A spreadsheet is free, flexible and yours — and for a handful of gigs a year it's fine. But it can't take a booking, know whether you can reach a date, sign a contract, or collect a deposit. Here's the honest trade-off.
Where a spreadsheet wins
- Free, and you already have it
- Totally flexible — any column you like
- No learning curve
- Fine for a handful of gigs a year
Where ActBook is different
- Clients book themselves off one link — a spreadsheet can't take a booking
- Travel-aware availability — it won't offer a date you can't physically reach
- Contracts, e-signatures and deposits built in, not a separate chase
- Automatic day-of texts, thank-yous and yearly re-book nudges
- One source of truth on your phone — no version you forgot to update
Feature by feature
| Capability | ActBook | a spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Costs nothing | Paid | ✓ |
| Clients can book themselves | ✓ | — |
| Knows your real (travel-aware) availability | ✓ | — |
| Protects against double-booking | ✓ | Manual |
| Contracts & e-signature | ✓ | — |
| Deposits & card payment | ✓ | — |
| Automatic reminders & re-books | ✓ | — |
| Day-of arrival texts | ✓ | — |
| Client & venue history / CRM | ✓ | Rows |
| Works from your phone | ✓ | Sort of |
We keep this current to the best of our knowledge and only claim what we can back. a spreadsheet’s own site is the source of truth for its exact current features and pricing — check it before you decide, and tell us if anything here is out of date and we’ll fix it.
Who should choose which
Stay on a spreadsheet if…
you book a handful of gigs a year and the admin isn't costing you anything. If it works, keep it — genuinely.
Choose ActBook if…
the back-and-forth is eating your evenings, you've double-booked or missed a deposit, or you want clients to just book themselves. That's the point where a spreadsheet quietly costs you gigs.
When the spreadsheet starts costing you gigs.
Move your list over in minutes — import your clients and bookings from that very spreadsheet (CSV or Excel).
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