WealthCEO vs spreadsheets and accounting software
A spreadsheet can model anything, and accounting software keeps one company’s books well. Running a whole family’s wealth on them is where it gets hard: many entities, one person who understands the file, and numbers that never quite agree.
What it’s good at
- Total flexibility: any model, any layout, any formula.
- Books for a single operating business, with the bank feeds and invoicing that business needs.
- No new system to learn, and you own the file.
Where it stops for a family with real complexity
- Consolidation across trusts, LLCs and partnerships is rebuilt by hand, so it’s only as current as the last time someone had a free weekend.
- One person usually understands the workbook. When they’re away, so is the picture.
- A cell can be overwritten with no trace; there’s no way to see where a total came from.
- Your CPA, bookkeeper and heirs either see the whole file or nothing.
When to stay with spreadsheets and accounting software: Stay with a spreadsheet if you have one or two entities, enjoy maintaining the model, and nobody else needs to rely on it. Keep your accounting software for an operating business’s day-to-day books either way.
Side by side
| Capability | WealthCEO | Spreadsheets and accounting software |
|---|---|---|
| Every entity consolidated at its percentage | Yes | Rebuilt by hand |
| Every number traced to its source | Yes | No |
| Double-entry books for each entityTrusts and holding LLCs, not only the operating company | Yes | One company per file |
| A trial balance that ties, or names what doesn’t | Yes | Partly |
| Coverage and an FI Date | Yes | If you build it |
| K-1s expected, received and missing | Yes | By hand |
| Scoped access for a CPA, bookkeeper or heir | Yes | Share the whole file |
| Complete freedom to model anything | Within its structure | Yes |
| Bank feeds today | Not in the beta | In accounting software |
WealthCEO
- Every entity consolidated at its percentage
- Yes
- Every number traced to its source
- Yes
- Double-entry books for each entity
- Yes
- A trial balance that ties, or names what doesn’t
- Yes
- Coverage and an FI Date
- Yes
- K-1s expected, received and missing
- Yes
- Scoped access for a CPA, bookkeeper or heir
- Yes
- Complete freedom to model anything
- Within its structure
- Bank feeds today
- Not in the beta
Spreadsheets and accounting software
- Every entity consolidated at its percentage
- Rebuilt by hand
- Every number traced to its source
- No
- Double-entry books for each entity
- One company per file
- A trial balance that ties, or names what doesn’t
- Partly
- Coverage and an FI Date
- If you build it
- K-1s expected, received and missing
- By hand
- Scoped access for a CPA, bookkeeper or heir
- Share the whole file
- Complete freedom to model anything
- Yes
- Bank feeds today
- In accounting software
Compared with the category as a whole; individual products differ. WealthCEO is in private beta, and areas open to beta households in stages.
Moving over
- Map your structure first: your entities, trusts and who owns what. Everything else hangs off it.
- Bring in balances and holdings entity by entity. Every row keeps where it came from.
- Keep your spreadsheet for the models only you need. WealthCEO doesn’t have to replace it to replace the consolidation.
Questions
Can I keep my accounting software for the operating business?
Yes. Many families keep their operating company’s day-to-day books where they are and use WealthCEO for the household, its holding entities and the consolidated picture.
Will I lose the flexibility of a spreadsheet?
For consolidation and reporting, yes, on purpose: one structure is what makes every number agree. For one-off models, keep the spreadsheet.
Try the math first
Also compare: WealthCEO vs budgeting apps · WealthCEO vs family office software
Ask to join the private beta
We’re opening WealthCEO to a small number of households at a time. Tell us about yours.