Excel has been a cornerstone of Excel transfer pricing work from the very beginning. In many ways, it still is. It’s flexible, familiar, and a great tool to get started.
But as your company grows, the cracks start to show. More entities, more transactions, and more data mean more hours spent wrestling with spreadsheets. At a certain point, Excel simply cannot keep up with the level of precision and consistency that today’s compliance standards demand.
Excel has been part of transfer pricing from the very beginning, and for good reason. It’s accessible, affordable, and proven to work. Compared to many tools on the market, it still holds its own.
But once the workload increases, the picture changes. More entities, tighter deadlines, and growing volumes of data quickly highlight the limits of relying solely on Excel. That’s when these challenges start to surface:
Using Excel is a bit like speaking in a dialect. Everyone in the office speaks the same language, but subtle differences in how people build or format spreadsheets can cause confusion. A small change in layout or a different way of organizing data may make it harder for others to follow your work.
The result: Unclear overviews, miscommunication, frustration, and sometimes even mistakes that lead to incorrect outcomes or costly delays.
Once your company expands into 20 or more countries, Excel starts to show its limits. Files get scattered across teams, and suddenly it becomes difficult to track down the information you need, especially when deadlines are tight.
The result: missing data, no clear overview of deadlines, and a sense of chaos that only increases as the organization grows.
Excel is often the go-to tool for creating and maintaining corporate structures. For small companies, it works just fine. But as organizations grow, keeping track of everything becomes a real challenge.
Errors from manual updates, confusing layouts, overdue documents piling up, and limited archiving of past versions all make it harder to maintain clear oversight.
The result: The larger your organization is the less likely you will be to have a clear overview.
Large, complex files often start out manageable when only one or two people are involved. The problem comes later. These files usually hold critical information, but they’re structured in a way that only the original creator can easily understand. Once that person leaves, the document turns into a maze for everyone else.
The result: wasted time just trying to get up to speed. In the worst cases, it creates last-minute panic when deadlines approach and key data or structures can’t be quickly accessed. What should be a useful resource becomes a dependency risk that slows the team down and adds unnecessary stress.
Manually reviewing data in Excel can be slow, tedious, and risky. Formula errors or broken links can easily slip through, creating extra work and frustration.
Using software to automate these checks saves time and reduces mistakes. It also makes your work more satisfying because you’re not stuck chasing errors or double-checking every cell.
Results: teams risk wasting hours, dealing with broken formulas, and feeling less satisfied with their work.
If you’re starting to notice Excel transfer pricing inconsistencies or small frustrations, it’s a good sign to explore dedicated transfer pricing software. Unlike Excel, these tools scale as your company grows and handle the challenges that slow you down.
Transfer pricing software really stands out in four key areas compared with Excel:
Excel is still fully manual, and no matter how experienced you are, mistakes happen. Automation software helps prevent these errors, including formula mistakes and broken links. If you ever need to revisit an older version, it’s always available.
Regulations are only getting stricter, and clear, consistent documentation is no longer optional. OECD guidelines on internal controls and tax compliance make it clear that auditors expect accuracy, traceability, and consistency across every entity and jurisdiction. Once you’re managing multiple entities or cross-border requirements, trying to keep everything in spreadsheets or with manual tracking quickly becomes a liability.
Dedicated compliance and transfer pricing software solves this problem. Instead of scattered files and inconsistent versions, it provides:
Investing in proper software isn’t about being fancy. It’s about protecting your business, saving your team’s time, and staying ahead of regulators.
If you’re still unsure about moving from Excel to dedicated transfer pricing software, there’s one clear tipping point: 20 or more entities. Beyond this, relying on Excel transfer pricing spreadsheets stops being convenient and becomes a real risk to your sanity.
Software designed for transfer pricing offers significant advantages for larger companies. A few key benefits include:
Stop letting Excel slow you down and put your compliance at risk. Schedule a call with our team today to see how Coperitas can streamline your transfer pricing processes, keep deadlines on track, and give your team full visibility across all entities. Let us show you how automation, clarity, and audit-ready documentation can make your life easier.
This article was written by Mike van Vuuren, CEO of Coperitas. This article was last updated on November 15, 2025. Do you have any questions about this content? Please contact us at +31 (0)88 221 5825 or send an email to info@coperitas.com.
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