This is life without the right EOS software:
It’s 9 AM Monday morning, and your leadership team is assembled for your weekly Level 10 meeting. You’re spending the first 15 minutes of your precious meeting time hunting through SharePoint folders, asking “Did anyone save last week’s Issues list?” while your VP of Operations frantically searches through email attachments. The rest of the meeting goes on in the same manner: frazzled, disorganized, and frustratingly time-wasting. This is NOT what you thought you were signing up for when you decided to start running on EOS®.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone.
If you’re running EOS on spreadsheets, sticky notes, or a patchwork of disconnected tools, you’re sabotaging your entire business operating system. And the hidden costs are staggering.
The Meeting Crisis That’s Crushing Your EOS Implementation
Bad meetings aren’t just soul-crushing, they’re super expensive: $37 billion is lost annually in the U.S. due to inefficient meetings. That’s not a typo — it’s billions with a “B”!
- 71% of workers waste time every week due to unnecessary or cancelled meetings
- Employees spend 31 hours each month in unproductive meetings
- 67% of recurring meetings are held without a structured plan
EOS is supposed to solve these meeting problems with structured Level 10 agendas. But when you’re running EOS on spreadsheets and manual tools, you might actually be making the problem worse.
What This Actually Costs Your Business (And It’s Not Pretty)
The time drain from inefficient EOS management compounds daily:
- Average delay per meeting: 10 minutes and 40 seconds, equivalent to 3 days and 2 hours lost annually per employee
- 40% of workers waste up to 30 minutes just searching for meeting materials
- The average worker spends an hour and 9 minutes simply preparing for each meeting
But these are just numbers. We’ve heard the stories from our customers, too:
Heritage Advises Insurance Agency experienced the classic spreadsheet adoption problem:
“The biggest pain point by far was adoption. We had the spreadsheets ready to go in each channel, but between meetings, no one was looking at them. So we would have a meeting, list the to dos, the Rocks and things like that, document it the way we were supposed to. But then we won’t look at it again until the following week when we had the next meeting.”
And over time, the spreadsheet sabotage just got worse:
“We felt a decline in the usage, or implementation of EOS®. We weren’t using the spreadsheets as much for meetings, issues weren’t getting put in. Essentially, we weren’t even doing rocks. There was getting to be less structure and accountability for our team.”
WorkSmart’s Kim Sullivan told us about how spreadsheets kept silos in tact:
“The biggest problem was being able to get information to and from other meetings. We were dependent on a team member remembering when something needed to go to the other meeting — and then figuring out how it’s going to come back.”
It’s clear: spreadsheets kill EOS adoption, accountability, and real collaboration.
When EOS Software Changes Everything
What happens when companies move from spreadsheets to dedicated EOS software?
Heritage Advises saw immediate meeting efficiency gains:
“Our meetings are so much more efficient now. We know exactly what we’re going to talk about and we just follow the order and knock them out. Our leadership meetings are now 45 minutes. So that’s a huge improvement.”
ServiceMaster of Salem, managing four franchise locations with EOS, transformed their meeting culture:
“Our meetings sucked, and now they’re very good. They’re very structured; just about every meeting we have follows the L10 format.”
But it’s not just about meetings. The productivity gains compound across your entire EOS implementation.
Valiant Technology, an award-winning MSP based in NYC, puts it perfectly:
“Every time we can avoid having to manually enter something, we’re getting back seconds and minutes. MSPs, like most businesses, especially service services, are games of inches… When the small daily wins are compounded over the year, you’re making some massive changes in the business.”
DaZZee IT eliminated the double-entry nightmare:
“Every tool we have that doesn’t integrate to our other tools becomes another place we have to go do double entry. So we’re constantly spending time cutting and pasting from one to the other. Not anymore with Strety’s integrations.”
Calculate Your EOS Software ROI
Before we dive deeper, let’s get specific about your potential return on investment. Use this calculator to see how much time and money you could save by switching from spreadsheets to dedicated EOS software:
The Accountability Revolution
Here’s where EOS software really shines: accountability.
WorkSmart gained unprecedented leadership visibility:
“Before, I wouldn’t have even known that [a manager hadn’t had 1:1s], but with Strety’s transparency, I can talk about it with them. Strety has created coaching points for me as a manager.”
Valiant Technology achieved true accountability:
“You can’t ignore it, because you can’t ignore your scorecard. You can’t ignore your review. That was a big change… With Strety, we’re better than we’ve ever been with accountability.”
Parachute Technology saw immediate engagement improvements:
“There’s been much more engagement [with EOS] and people are actually putting in more numbers. They’re building their scorecards. We have a lot of data that we can go and access through all the different teams.”
Why Spreadsheets Kill EOS Momentum
WorkSmart tried for years to make manual systems work:
“We started with Excel. And it was fine. There were things that required workarounds — needing to clean it up, maintaining it, teaching someone how to manage it. It was successful to varying degrees.”
They eventually moved to Microsoft Planner, but found that “Both Excel and Planner have their pros and cons as issue trackers, but neither one was ideal.”
The problem isn’t just efficiency — it’s momentum. Even moving from spreadsheets to the wrong kind of software can hurt your EOS adoption. DaZZee IT experienced this firsthand:
“From a communication perspective, when we were leveraging Ninety.io, we found that the data lived there exclusively… When we would go back the next week for another Level 10, no one had looked at or updated any of that information… With Strety, it got us back to a point where we were putting the framework into action and communicating around it.”
The Integrated EOS Software Advantage
The best EOS software does more than replace spreadsheets: it creates a connected ecosystem that embeds EOS® into the beating heart of your business. That’s why we’ve built so many native EOS software integrations than any other software, and why integrations are one of our Three Uniques.
Built by Operators Who Lived the Pain
Here’s what makes Strety different from other EOS software options. We were built by operators who experienced the spreadsheet pain firsthand.
“Another thing I liked about Strety was I feel that there’s a lot more connection to the Strety team as the MSP/small business owner. They lived in our world a lot longer… You can see the way Strety’s built that it was built for business owners by people who got what we did, and that is really powerful.” — Georg from Valiant
Development Speed To Get More S*** Done
When you’re running a business, you don’t have time to wait months for feature requests.
“The moment we spot something and we’re asking questions or looking to make any small changes, they’re taken care of. In my decades of experience in tech, I’ve never known a dev team turn corrections, enhancements, and new ideas around as quickly as the Strety team does.” — Ian from Start Tech
Integrations That Our Customers Love
- DaZZee IT: Microsoft Teams and AutoTask integrations eliminated app-switching
- WorkSmart: ConnectWise integration was “a game-changer” for technical teams
- 31st Street Capital: Uses Strety across multiple portfolio companies with seamless collaboration
You can also read what more customers say about our integrations on our EOS software review page.
Your 4-Week EOS Software Implementation Sprint
Ready to make the switch? Here’s how successful companies have done it:
Week 1: Audit Current Waste
- Track time spent preparing for L10 meetings
- Document Issues that fall through spreadsheet cracks
- Calculate your actual ROI using the calculator above
Week 2: Trial EOS Software
- Start a free trial with your leadership team
- Import your current Rocks and Issues
- Run one L10 meeting in the software
Week 3: Measure Early Wins
- Compare meeting efficiency before/after
- Track Scorecard update frequency
- Document early accountability improvements
Week 4: Full Team Rollout
- Roll out to all departments
- Set up integrations with existing tools
- Establish new meeting rhythms
- Take inspiration from how Stellar Senior Living rolled out their EOS software implementation to 36 communities
FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About EOS Software
Why is EOS software better than Excel spreadsheets for business operating systems?
Based on customer feedback, EOS software eliminates the adoption problems that plague spreadsheet implementations. Heritage Advises found that “between meetings, no one was looking at [spreadsheets]” while dedicated EOS software keeps the framework “front and center” with better accountability and real-time updates.
What’s the typical ROI of EOS software implementation?
Studies show business process automation typically achieves 250% ROI within 6-9 months. Customer examples like Heritage Advises reduced their L10 meetings from unclear durations to structured 45-minute sessions, representing significant time savings across their leadership team.
How long does it take to implement EOS software?
Most customers see immediate adoption improvements. Parachute Technology noted “there’s been much more engagement and people are actually putting in more numbers” right after switching from spreadsheets to dedicated software.
What integrations should I look for in EOS software?
Key integrations include Microsoft Teams (for meeting efficiency), PSA systems like ConnectWise or AutoTask (for MSPs), and Microsoft To Do/Planner (for task management). WorkSmart called their ConnectWise integration “a game-changer.”
You should also look for connections to your other most important tools, like project management software (Monday, Asana, ClickUp) or CRMs (HubSpot, Wealthbox).
Is EOS software worth it for small businesses?
Yes — even nonprofits running on EOS like The Well find the ROI compelling, noting that “if you run your nonprofit like a business, then you can sustain your mission and maximize the impact.” The efficiency gains compound over time regardless of company size.
What are the biggest problems with using spreadsheets for EOS?
The main issues are poor adoption (people don’t check between meetings), lack of real-time updates, double-entry work, and no integration with daily tools. As DaZZee IT noted, “Every tool that doesn’t integrate becomes another place we have to go do double entry.”
How do I calculate the ROI of switching from spreadsheets to EOS software?
Use the calculator above for your specific numbers. Generally: (Hours saved per meeting × Number of meetings per year × Team size × Average hourly rate) – Annual software cost = ROI. Note: this only pertains to time saved in meetings, and doesn’t factor in additional benefits like improved Rock completion rates and fewer Issues falling through cracks. Personally, we think completing Rocks and solving Issues is priceless!
The Bottom Line: Your EOS Implementation Deserves Better Than Spreadsheets
Running EOS on spreadsheets isn’t just inefficient — it undermines the very framework designed to bring clarity and accountability to your business. Every week you delay switching to proper EOS software, you’re missing out on the full potential of your business operating system.
But the real value isn’t just efficiency — it’s the accountability, engagement, and momentum that comes from having everyone actually using your business operating system instead of fighting with it.
Don’t let spreadsheets sabotage your EOS implementation any longer!
Ready to Stop the Spreadsheet Sabotage?
- Start a free trial and see the difference in your first L10 meeting
- Book a demo to see integrations with your existing tools in action
Join the thousands of companies running EOS more efficiently. Your team will thank you!!
