Committee software vs spreadsheets and email
A spreadsheet and a shared inbox can run a quiet building for years. Here is exactly where they hold up, where they stop, and what changes when the record belongs to the building instead of a person.
Spreadsheets and email are fine for a small, low-activity committee with one long-serving secretary. They fail at handover, when compliance dates slip, and when a dispute needs a clear record of who approved what and when. Committee software earns its cost mainly by keeping that record attached to the building.
Where the old way stops working
Six things every committee eventually hits — and what replaces them.
Spreadsheets and email
- Committee work feels like a second job on top of the one you already have
- You chase the strata manager for documents you should already have
- Change managers and the building's history leaves with them
- Decisions live 1000s of emails and three group chats and nobody can find them
- Compliance dates only surface after they have passed
- Owners email the secretary for things they should find themselves
Flex Strata
- Short, obvious workflows a volunteer can finish on a phone
- Every document in one place — no chasing anyone
- The record belongs to the OC, through committee and manager changes
- One committee hub where every discussion keeps its decision
- Compliance register with owners, due dates and reminders
- Owners self-serve documents, notices, requests and votes
Side by side
Including the options most committees weigh up at the same time.
| Feature | Flex Strata | Strata Pages (full) | Group chat + email | Shared drive + spreadsheets | Traditional manager only |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Made for | Committees | Managers & committees | Nobody | Determined volunteers | Outsourcing |
| Committee hub & private threads | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Meetings, proxies & minutes | Yes | Yes | Manual | Manual | Manager-run |
| Ballots between meetings | Yes | Yes | No | No | Manager-run |
| Maintenance, quotes & approvals | Yes | Yes | No | Manual | Manager-run |
| Compliance register | Yes | Yes | No | Manual | Varies |
| Page-level owner access | Yes | Yes | No | All or nothing | Basic or none |
| Levies & full accounting | Not included — by design | Yes — levies, budgets, cashbook | No | Manual | Included |
| Your record if you change managers | Stays with the building | Stays with the building | Scattered across inboxes | On someone's laptop | Leaves with the manager |
| Setup time | Under an hour | A few days | Instant, then chaos | Weeks of setup | Weeks |
| Typical cost | One base fee per building | Per unit, per month | Free, until it costs you | Low cost, high effort | $3,000–$8,000+/yr |
Common questions
Are spreadsheets and email enough to run a strata committee?
For a small, low-activity building with one willing secretary and a stable committee, a spreadsheet and a shared inbox can work for years. They break down at handover, when two jobs run at once, when a compliance date is missed, or when a dispute needs proof of who approved what and when.
What breaks at committee handover?
The record lives with the person, not the building. A new secretary inherits someone else's spreadsheet habits, half-finished email threads they cannot see, and no reliable way to tell what is current. Purpose-built software keeps the history attached to the building.
Is committee software worth the cost for a small building?
Flex Strata is a single base fee per building per month, including the first lots — well under the cost of one missed compliance deadline or one disputed decision. Small, quiet buildings with no handover risk may reasonably stay on a spreadsheet.
Can we keep our strata manager and still use committee software?
Yes. Your manager gets their own seat type with view-only access until the committee grants more, page by page, and can be instructed directly from a job or a dispute.
Committee updates
The committee playbook, by email
One short email a month: meeting templates, compliance reminders and plain-English strata explainers for committees. No sales spam.
Try it on your own building
Free trial, no card. Move one month of jobs across and see the difference at your next meeting.