Why Cloud‑Based ICFP Beats a Multi‑Spreadsheet Approach Across a Trust
February 23rd, 2026
Introduction
For many trusts, spreadsheets have long been the default tool for curriculum and financial planning. They’re familiar, flexible, and already sitting on everyone’s desktop. But as trusts grow in size and complexity, the limitations of a multi‑spreadsheet approach become impossible to ignore.
A cloud‑based, trust‑wide ICFP system — like Waffle — doesn’t just replace spreadsheets. It transforms the way trusts plan, model, and make decisions.
1. One Source of Truth — Not 30 Slightly Different Versions
Every trust leader knows the pain of version control. With spreadsheets scattered across schools, it’s easy for formulas to be overwritten, tabs to diverge from templates, and multiple copies to circulate with no certainty about which version is correct. A cloud‑based system removes this entirely by giving everyone the same live data, with automatic tracking of changes and a consistent structure across every school.
2. Instant Trust‑Wide Visibility (Without Copy‑Pasting Anything)
In a spreadsheet world, producing a trust‑wide picture means someone has to gather dozens of files, align formats, cross‑check formulas, and manually consolidate the data. It’s slow and fragile — and the result is often out of date by the time it’s finished.
A cloud‑based system pulls everything together automatically, giving trust leaders dashboards that show key measures in real time, including:
- curriculum and class‑size patterns
- staffing costs and deployment
- school‑by‑school variances
- emerging pressure points
What once took days becomes available at a glance.
3. Scenario Planning Becomes Effortless (Instead of Impossible)
Excel can technically do scenario planning, but doing it across multiple spreadsheets is extremely challenging. Each scenario risks breaking formulas, duplicating tabs, and creating inconsistencies between schools.
In a cloud platform, scenarios are designed into the system from the outset. Leaders can explore options such as adjusting teaching loads, changing leadership structures, modifying timetables, or reshaping support staff hours — and instantly switch each scenario on or off to see the impact. Instead of wrestling with spreadsheets, they can focus on strategic choices and compare possibilities side by side with confidence.
4. Consistent, Clean, Comparable Data — Without the Cleanup
Spreadsheets allow every user to work differently, which means inconsistencies build up fast. Trust leaders often find themselves spending more time cleaning data than analysing it.
A cloud‑based system enforces common definitions and consistent calculations, ensuring that the data coming from each school is aligned and directly comparable. This gives leaders a reliable evidence base and reduces the risk of decisions being shaped by formatting differences or formula errors hidden deep inside a spreadsheet.
5. Stronger Governance and Better Conversations
When boards and committees rely on manually assembled spreadsheets, their view of the trust is limited to whatever snapshot was produced that week. They can’t explore the assumptions behind the numbers or test ideas during the meeting.
A cloud‑based platform changes the conversation. Governors can see the live impact of changes — such as adjusting class structures or altering staffing models — allowing for richer, more strategic discussions. Instead of reviewing static documents, everyone engages with dynamic, transparent data that supports smarter oversight.
6. Collaboration Designed In, Not Added On
Spreadsheets tend to trap information in individual machines or shared drives that only a handful of people understand. A cloud system brings all contributors together. Curriculum leads, finance teams, HR and senior leadership can access the same information, with clear permissions and audit trails controlling who can do what. This removes bottlenecks and eliminates file‑sharing chaos.
To support this collaboration, cloud platforms also enable:
- real‑time updates
- secure sign‑in for different roles
- automatic backups
- shared dashboards across teams
This unified approach speeds up both planning and decision‑making.
The Bottom Line
Using spreadsheets across a trust isn’t simply old‑fashioned — it actively limits strategic planning. A cloud‑based ICFP system offers a single source of truth, immediate trust‑level insight, reliable scenario planning, consistent metrics, and a collaborative framework that strengthens governance and protects your data.
Most importantly, it frees leaders to focus on what matters: building sustainable structures that help staff thrive and pupils succeed.