Why Excel is not enough for transfer pricing compliance

What are the advantages, risks and limitations of using Excel for transfer pricing?

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: 

Not made for collaboration 

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. 

Scattered Excel sheets 

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. 

Challenging for corporate structure management 

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. 

Knowledge dependency risk 

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. 

Tedious and error-prone 

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. 

What does transfer pricing software offer instead? 

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: 

Clarity 

Software like Coperitas makes documentation clear, organized, and accessible to the whole team. All information lives in one centralized overview, making it easy to navigate both your data and entities. 

Collaboration 

Excel was never built for teamwork, but Coperitas was. It provides a single access point for the whole team to view project knowledge, structures, and information, helping prevent misunderstandings, delays, and, most importantly, frustration. 

Compliance 

Using Excel often means juggling separate tools for storage, dashboards, and deadlines. While we’ve already discussed storage and dashboards, the risk of missing deadlines remains. Coperitas solves this by giving you a clear overview of all deadlines and sending reminders when they’re approaching. 

Control 

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. 

Compliance, audit readiness and regulatory pressure 

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. 

A scalable solution for growing businesses

If you’re still unsure about moving from Excel to dedicated transfer pricing software, there’s one clear tipping point: 20 or more entities or involvement by more than 3 people. Beyond this, relying on Excel transfer pricing spreadsheets stops being convenient and becomes a real risk to your sanity.