Already running referrals, stock and parcels in spreadsheets? We'll look at how your food bank works today and show you what moving to FoodBank360 would involve: what transfers, what needs tidying, and what changes for your volunteers.
Most food banks start with a spreadsheet, and for good reason: it's free, everyone knows it, and it can be set up in an afternoon. But a food bank rarely stays small or simple. Referral partners multiply, donations arrive from more places, a second site opens, and the spreadsheet that worked for one coordinator ends up shared between a dozen volunteers. At that point the spreadsheet starts creating work instead of saving it. Referrals get retyped, stock is counted by hand, and the monthly report takes a day. Nothing has gone wrong. The tool simply wasn't built for what your food bank has become.
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You don't need all of these. Two or three usually mean it's time to look at alternatives.
A referral is typed into one sheet, copied onto a parcel list and counted again for the monthly report. Each copy is another chance for a mistake.
Shared drives help, but two people can still edit different copies, and there's no simple record of who changed what.
When parcels don't update stock, the stock sheet is only as accurate as the last time someone counted.
Spreadsheets of names, addresses and circumstances get emailed, downloaded and printed. The UK Information Commissioner has warned about personal data
When the person who built the formulas is away or moves on, the food bank feels it straight away.
We'd rather tell you honestly: some food banks don't need software yet.
Excel is probably fine if… |
Dedicated software is worth considering if… |
|---|---|
| You run one site | You run, or plan to run, more than one site |
| One person maintains the spreadsheet | Several staff and volunteers need access |
| You don't take outside referrals | Referrals come from partner agencies |
| Your stock is simple and small | You build parcels from stock and need expiry warnings |
| You don't deliver | You run deliveries or collection slots |
| Reporting is light | Funders, trustees or a network need regular figures |
| You control access and keep backups | Personal data is shared by email or on paper |
If you're mostly in the left-hand column, our free spreadsheet audit checklist can still help you tidy up what you have.
FoodBank360 brings referrals, households, stock, parcels, deliveries, donations and volunteers into one system, so information is entered once and used everywhere.
| If your spreadsheet does this… | FoodBank360 does it like this |
|---|---|
| Referral log | Partner agencies submit referrals online and see their status. You approve partners, set household visit limits and reschedule missed referrals. |
| Household list | One record per household, with duplicate checks, including across sites. |
| Stock sheet | Live stock levels, low-stock alerts, and expiry alerts at a timing you choose. |
| Parcel list | Parcel templates (including extra-adult, extra-child and kettle parcels) that deduct stock when issued. |
| Delivery list | Delivery schedules, driver lists on a phone or printed, collection slots and redelivery tracking. Drivers see only their own run. |
| Donations sheet | Cash and food donations, with Gift Aid declarations you can export for HMRC claims. |
| Volunteer rota | Shifts, sign-up, check-in and check-out, hours, and DBS renewal dates. |
| One file per site | Per-site stock, transfers between sites, and network-wide reports. |
Already managing your food bank in Excel? We'll help you understand how your existing data and ways of working could move to dedicated food bank software, before you commit to anything. In the review, we'll:
In the review, we'll:
What transfers depends on how your spreadsheets are set up. It's often better to start fresh with some history, such as old visit logs. We'll talk you through what's worth bringing across. As a guide, these are the kinds of records that can map to FoodBank360
Most spreadsheets need some tidying before an import. Common issues:
A food bank with one distribution centre and twelve referral partners keeps five files: a referral log, a household list, a stock sheet, a delivery list and a volunteer rota.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Partners email referrals; the coordinator retypes them | Partners submit referrals online, and the coordinator approves them |
| Household list checked by eye for duplicates | Duplicate check when a household is added |
| Stock counted on Fridays | Stock deducted as parcels are issued, with alerts for low stock and expiry |
| Delivery list rebuilt weekly | Delivery schedule, with driver lists on their phones |
| Rota in a shared sheet | Volunteers sign up for shifts and check in |
| Monthly report compiled by hand | Report run from the system |
The change isn't instant. Data needs cleaning first, volunteers need a short introduction, and partners need their logins. But each piece of information is entered once.
Moving records is the riskiest moment for personal data, so we plan for it.
Tell us how your food bank runs today. We'll show you what would move across, what would need tidying, and how FoodBank360 would fit.
Takes less than 2 minutes. Prefer to talk? Call 0115 786 0269.
