SubClik vs spreadsheets & paper job sheets

SubClik vs spreadsheets and paper job sheets.

Plenty of good copier businesses run on a spreadsheet and a pad of job sheets. Here is when that still works, and when it starts costing you more than software would.

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Comparison checked 12 October 2026 from public information; tell us if something has changed.

At a glance

Spreadsheets are free, flexible and everybody knows them. What they cannot do is read a printer, tell you about a jam, or stop a mistyped meter reading reaching an invoice. The question is how much of your week goes on that.

Choose Spreadsheets & paper if…

You have one or two engineers and a small number of machines.
Customers send their meter readings on time, every time.
Billing takes you an hour, not days, each month.
You want no new software cost at all, and complete freedom over the layout.

Choose SubClik if…

You spend days each month chasing and typing meter readings.
Job sheets come back late, unreadable or not at all, and are retyped for invoices.
You hear about faults and empty toner only when the customer rings.
A wrong reading or formula has reached an invoice before.
You want invoices in Xero or QuickBooks and payments collected without retyping.

Feature by feature

What each product says it does, from its own public pages. Where a vendor does not say, we say so.

SubClik compared with spreadsheets and paper job sheets for running copier service
Feature	SubClik	Spreadsheets & paper
Cost and flexibility
Software cost	Full platform: Solo £39, Team £149, Business £349 a month (excluding VAT). Monitor free for 10 printers, then from £0.60 a printer a month	YesUsually nothing extra: most offices already have a spreadsheet program
Set up exactly how you like	PartlyYour job types, checklists, prices, rates and working hours, within SubClik’s structure	YesAny column, any layout
Works with no signal	YesThe engineer app keeps working and sends everything later	YesPaper always works
Meters and toner
Meter readings	YesRead automatically every day from networked printers; reading links for the rest	NoChased by email or phone, then typed in
Knowing about a fault	YesJams and error codes within about a minute, with the code	NoWhen the customer calls
Toner	YesDays left per cartridge and a toner-to-send list	NoWhen the customer runs out or remembers to ask
Jobs and engineers
Job sheet	YesOn the phone; the customer gets a PDF by email	PartlyPaper, carried back to the office and retyped
Time, parts and signature	YesRecorded as the engineer works; signed on the phone	PartlyWritten by hand, if the sheet comes back
Machine history	YesOne record per machine: visits, meters, problems	PartlySpread across files, folders and filing cabinets
Who changed what	YesAudit log with the person and the time	PartlyDepends on the tool; no history on paper
Billing and customers
Click billing	YesBilling run from the readings; odd readings held for checking	PartlyFormulas by hand each month; one wrong cell can reach an invoice
Invoices into Xero or QuickBooks	YesSent when issued; payments there mark the invoice paid	NoRetyped
Getting paid	YesGoCardless Direct Debit, Stripe card links and automatic reminders	NoChased by hand
Customer self-service	YesPortal: live machines, calls, invoices, fault reports, toner orders	NoPhone and email

Scroll the table sideways to see both columns.

Not published means we could not find it on the vendor’s public pages on 12 October 2026. It does not mean the product cannot do it; ask the vendor.

Where Spreadsheets & paper is stronger

No extra cost
Most offices already pay for a spreadsheet program, and paper is cheap.
Complete freedom
Any column, any layout, any formula. Nothing to learn and nobody else’s structure to fit.
Nothing to install
No agent at customer sites and no change for engineers who are used to paper.
Works anywhere
A paper job sheet never needs signal or a charged battery.

Where SubClik is different

Meters arrive by themselves
Daily readings from networked printers, linked to the machine by serial number. Printer monitoring.
One job record
The office and the engineer work on the same job, from the call to the signature. Engineer app.
Billing you can trust
Click billing from the readings, with readings that look wrong held for checking. Contracts and billing.
Nothing typed twice
Invoices go to Xero or QuickBooks, and Direct Debit or card payments mark them paid. Integrations.

Moving off spreadsheets

Start with the part that costs you the most time, usually meter readings, and add the rest when you are ready.

Step 1
Import your list
Customers, sites and machines come in from your spreadsheet; we check the columns with you.
Step 2
Read the printers
Install the SubClik Agent at a customer site. Monitor is free for up to 10 printers.
Step 3
Engineers on phones
Engineers sign in on the phone’s browser; nothing to install from an app store.
Step 4
First billing run
Bill from the readings and send the invoices to Xero or QuickBooks.

Questions

When is a spreadsheet still enough?

If you have one or two engineers, a small number of machines, and customers who send their meter readings on time, a spreadsheet and paper job sheets can work well and cost nothing extra. The pressure usually starts when chasing readings, retyping job sheets and checking billing formulas take days each month.

Can we import our spreadsheet into SubClik?

Yes. Customers, sites and machines can be imported from a spreadsheet. Tell us what columns you keep and we will check the fields with you.

Do we have to change everything at once?

No. You can start with SubClik Monitor, which is free for up to 10 printers, to stop chasing meter readings, and add the service desk, engineer app and billing later. Your printers and their history stay when you move up.

What if the engineer has no signal?

The SubClik engineer app runs in the phone’s browser and keeps working without signal. It sends the work, with the real times, when the phone is back online.

What do we need for automatic meter readings?

A Windows computer at the customer’s site that stays on, on the same network as the printers, and network printers that answer SNMP, which most business printers do. Machines without it keep their readings from engineers, the office or a reading request link sent to the customer.

Sources

Each page below was read on 12 October 2026.

SubClik printer monitoringwww.subclik.co.uk/features/printer-monitoring · checked 12 October 2026
SubClik engineer appwww.subclik.co.uk/features/engineer-app · checked 12 October 2026
SubClik contracts and billingwww.subclik.co.uk/features/contracts-and-billing · checked 12 October 2026
SubClik machine historywww.subclik.co.uk/features/machine-history · checked 12 October 2026
SubClik integrationswww.subclik.co.uk/features/integrations · checked 12 October 2026
SubClik Monitor pricingwww.subclik.co.uk/monitor · checked 12 October 2026

This page compares SubClik with a general way of working rather than a product, so the sources are the SubClik pages that describe each feature.