ESG Reporting in Excel vs ESG Software: Ella Compared (2026)
Spreadsheets are fine for a first carbon footprint with a handful of sites. They break when more people supply data, frameworks multiply and auditors ask where numbers came from. Ella is ESG software built as an AI agent that collects the data, applies emission factors and keeps the source behind every figure.
Last updated 30 October 2026 · By Tom Wilford, Founder, Ella
Get startedCan you do ESG reporting in Excel?
Spreadsheets vs Ella at a glance
| Spreadsheets | Ella | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting the data | Emails and attachments you chase by hand | Collect links sent to data owners, with missing replies chased |
| Bills and receipts | Typed in manually | Dragged in and read automatically |
| Emission factors | Copied in and updated by hand each year | Current factors applied by activity period |
| Audit trail | Hard to trace a cell back to a document | Every number linked to its source |
| Multiple frameworks | A new tab or file per request | SECR, CDP, CSRD, VSME and EcoVadis from one data set |
| Key-person risk | Knowledge sits with whoever built the file | Process and history stay in the platform |
Signs you have outgrown your spreadsheet
How to move from Excel to Ella
Which should you choose?
| If you have | Choose |
|---|---|
| One site and a simple Scope 1 and 2 footprint | A spreadsheet is fine to start |
| Several sites or data owners to chase each quarter | Ella |
| SECR, CDP, EcoVadis or VSME requests in the same year | Ella |
| An audit, assurance or rating review coming up | Ella |
How we wrote this comparison
How Ella helps
Carbon accounting software
Scope 1, 2 and 3, SECR, CDP and reduction plans, built from your real bills and invoices.
ESG reporting software
CSRD, VSME and customer ESG requests, with the data collected and cleaned for you.
ESG strategy software
Materiality, targets and a reduction roadmap built from the data you already hold.
Related resources
Carbon Reduction Plan Template (PPN 006)
A Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) is a short public document that suppliers bidding for UK government contracts worth over £5m a year must publish. It commits to net zero by 2050, reports Scope 1, Scope 2 and five Scope 3 categories against a baseline, lists reduction measures and is signed by a director.
ESG data collection software: how to collect ESG data without chasing spreadsheets
ESG data collection software gathers the energy, emissions, workforce and governance data a sustainability report needs from the people and systems that hold it. Good tools request data from named owners, chase them, read invoices and bills, pull from integrations, and keep a source on every number so the final report is audit-ready.
Best carbon accounting software in 2026: an honest comparison
The best carbon accounting software in 2026 is the one that gets real activity data out of your organisation with the least chasing, then turns it into Scope 1, 2 and 3 figures you can defend to an auditor. For large UK and EU teams, compare Ella, Greenly, Persefoni, Sweep, Watershed, Plan A and Normative on data collection first.
SECR Reporting Explained: Who Must Report and What to Include
SECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting) requires UK quoted companies, and large unquoted companies and LLPs, to report their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in their annual report. A company is large if it meets two of three tests: turnover of £36m or more, balance sheet of £18m or more, or 250 or more employees. Scope 3 is optional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I do carbon accounting in Excel?
Yes, for a simple footprint. You need complete activity data and the right emission factors for each year, and the risk of errors and lost sources grows quickly as sites and data owners increase.
When should I move from spreadsheets to ESG software?
When several people supply data, you report to more than one framework, or someone asks you to prove where a number came from. Those are the points where spreadsheets cost the most time.
Is there an ESG reporting template in Excel?
Many templates exist, including our carbon reduction plan template. They are a good start, but they do not collect data from colleagues or keep an audit trail for you.
Can I import my spreadsheet into Ella?
Yes. Drop your existing spreadsheets, bills and reports into Ella and it maps them to your reporting periods so your history is kept.
What is wrong with ESG reporting in spreadsheets?
Nothing at small scale. At larger scale the problems are manual chasing, copy-paste errors, outdated emission factors and no clear link from each number to its source.
Does Ella replace Excel completely?
For collecting, calculating and reporting ESG data, yes. You can still export to Excel whenever you want to analyse the data yourself.
Can Ella collect ESG data from colleagues and suppliers?
Yes. Ella sends collect links and data requests, tracks missing responses and chases until people reply, accepts bills, receipts and spreadsheets in any format, and runs surveys for suppliers and colleagues. Every figure keeps a link to the document or reply it came from.
How much does Ella cost?
Ella is priced by module (Carbon, ESG reporting, EcoVadis, B Corp) and by company size, and every module has a 14-day trial so you can test it on your own data before procurement.