Stemzo / Stemzo vs Google Sheets and WhatsApp
Stemzo vs Google Sheets and WhatsApp
Free, familiar and good at what they do. Here is where Stemzo helps a distributor as the business grows.
For years we ran an FMCG distribution business in Siliguri on Google Sheets and WhatsApp, and they did more work than anyone gives them credit for. We built Stemzo inside that business. This page says what the two tools do well, where we saw them start to cost us, and how Stemzo helps.
What Google Sheets and WhatsApp do well
- Sheets cost nothing to start, your office already knows how to use them, you can change a sheet on a Tuesday morning because the business changed on Monday night, and no developer is involved. They print, they email, and they do arithmetic you can see and check.
- Sheets share and track changes. Google's own help says you can control whether people can edit, comment on, or only open a file, that you can see who last changed a file, and that you can work with earlier versions of it.
- Sheets can work offline on a computer in the Chrome or Edge browser with Google's offline extension turned on, according to Google's help page.
- WhatsApp is where your team and your customers already are. Photos and voice notes travel in seconds and nobody needs training. That is a real strength, and it is why we keep it in the picture.
Where Stemzo helps
In our experience, in this order. Stages one and two are normal. Stage three is where Stemzo starts to pay back quietly. Stages four and five are where the gain can be counted.
Someone overwrites someone else. The fix is that everyone makes their own copy, and soon there are six versions of the truth.
Each voucher, despatch and approval is one record in one queue, with who raised it and who decided.
An afternoon to answer, so you quietly stop asking questions that take an afternoon.
The numbers sit in one system, and Tally reports can be shown as charts beside them.
You cannot type into a spreadsheet standing next to a bike in the rain. The sheet becomes what a biller remembers in the evening.
Staff confirm on the phone where the work happens: a delivery at the door, attendance at the godown gate.
The signed delivery copy is a photograph, and WhatsApp is a conveyor belt, not a filing system. Three weeks later a party disputes a bill.
The delivery photo is filed with the delivery, and you can find it by the invoice.
For us it was two full days every month, for years, matching what the godown said against what Tally said.
One record per delivery and per approval, so the Stemzo numbers can be checked against Tally at any time.
Stages one to five are from our note, What a distribution business actually loses on Google Sheets. The two-days figure is from our own business.
When Stemzo starts to pay off
A well-built set of sheets is a good start, and Stemzo is free for up to 5 people, so a small team can begin without spending. As you reach stage three, four or five, Stemzo closes the gap between where work happens and where it gets recorded.
Questions people ask
How is Stemzo different from Google Sheets?
Sheets are a good place to start, and Stemzo is free for up to 5 people so you can begin without spending. Stemzo is built for the stage where the gap between where work happens and where it gets recorded starts to cost money.
Can we keep using WhatsApp?
Yes. Your team does not have to stop. Stemzo moves approvals, delivery proof and attendance into one place, and where WhatsApp is the right channel it stays: the Collections screen prepares a payment reminder with the party and amount filled in, and one tap opens WhatsApp so you can send it.
What happens to our existing sheets?
Nothing has to be thrown away. We did not throw ours away either: Stemzo can still mirror records to Google Sheets for a workspace that wants it. When you switch, delivery staff confirm on the app and on paper in parallel for a day or two, so you always have a copy.
What does it cost compared with a free spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet costs nothing to start, and Stemzo is free for up to 5 people. Beyond that you choose the products you need from ₹29 per person a month, or all of them for ₹129, before tax. Every price is on the pricing page.
How long does it take to switch?
Realistically two to three weeks from signing. The pace is set by how quickly your people, vehicles, brands and roles are entered and who signs off the approval rules.