How to Move Your Group from a Spreadsheet to an App Without Chaos

Adam · September 18, 2026 at 06:58 AM

Switching tools mid-season feels risky — nobody wants to surprise thirty people with a new sign-up method overnight. But you don't have to do it all at once. A plan for just one session cycle is enough.

Creating a group is simpler than importing a spreadsheet

Creating a group in B-Admin-Time is one simple form — name, description, visibility, plan — with no file import, column mapping, or fixing data errors. Members join by invitation or by joining a public group (see how public, closed and private groups differ). For a dozen or twenty people, inviting each one individually takes a dozen or so minutes — less than preparing a spreadsheet for import would — and it's a good chance to explain what's changing.

Start with your regulars, not the whole list

Invite the most regular players first — let them go through sign-ups and settlement for one or two sessions before anyone else even hears about the change. It's easier to work through the first questions with five engaged people than with thirty at once. The rest — those who drop in once in a while — can play as guests, without creating an account, until they decide to join permanently.

Set up automations before you stop updating the spreadsheet

Before finally dropping the spreadsheet, it’s worth setting up a recurring rule or at least a session template matching your usual court booking — so the first "real" week in the app doesn’t need manual setup either.

Run both for one cycle, then close the spreadsheet

For one full session cycle (say, two weeks), it's worth running both tools in parallel so nobody's caught off guard. Once every regular player has been through sign-up and settlement in the app, the spreadsheet can safely stop being updated.

Sample schedule: a group of 22 people, two weeks

Week 1: the admin invites the 6 most regular players and sets up one session with the same hours and courts as usual. This first session runs in parallel with the spreadsheet — sign-ups and settlement already happen in the app, and the spreadsheet serves only as a backup list in case of questions. Week 2: the invitation goes out to the remaining 16 people, and the recurring rule creates the next session by itself, with no manual setup. After two sessions run entirely in the app, the spreadsheet stops being updated — nobody had to learn anything new in a single evening.

What if after two weeks you go back to the spreadsheet anyway

Nothing blocks the way back. With 14 days of the full Pro plan (no card required) there is no commitment, and the spreadsheet doesn't go anywhere during the trial — if after two sessions you decide it's not for you, you simply return to the old way. All you lose is the time it took to try it.

“Before using B-Admin-Time, group management was mostly about coordination through chats and manually keeping track of players, games and arrangements. It required quite a bit of follow-up and coordination. With the app, things are much more structured and aligned.” — Admin of a group of about 20 players that has been using B-Admin-Time for over 2 months

“The biggest problem was keeping changes up to date. If someone signed off, signed up or swapped with another person, you had to remember to fix it in the spreadsheet too. Because the spreadsheet was edited by many people, mistakes and outdated information crept in.” — Renata, admin of a group of about 40 players that has been using B-Admin-Time for over 2 months

See sessions and slots and sign-ups and the waitlist, or check the full comparison with a spreadsheet and messenger app. You don't have to commit to a whole season at once — create a group and test one session cycle alongside your spreadsheet — 14 days free, no card required.