Kineo vs spreadsheets and email
Many AEC projects still run on spreadsheets and email. They're free, flexible, and familiar to everyone. Here's what they handle well and where they start to cost you time.
Free for 14 days, with every feature included.
What spreadsheets and email do well
There's no license, no training, and no vendor to depend on, and you can set up a tracker in an afternoon.
Where they fall short
- A tracker is only as current as the last person who updated it.
- Review comments live in PDFs, decisions live in email, and versions are tracked by filename.
- Outside reviewers often print, mark up, scan, and email back a file nobody can search.
- Invoices get rebuilt each month from timesheets and the contract.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Kineo | Spreadsheets and email |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Per seat, with every feature included | Free |
| Training | Some | None |
| Document status | Pulled from the documents and reviews | Updated by hand |
| Review record | Checklist decisions with markups and names | Comments in PDFs and email threads |
| Versions | Every revision kept with the document | Tracked by filename |
| Outside reviewers | Emailed link, no account | Email attachments |
| Invoices | Drafted from the contract and approved work | Rebuilt by hand |
| Client email | Read by the assistant, which suggests the tasks to create | Retyped into the tracker |
| Proposals and change orders | Drafted by the assistant or an automation, for your team to review | Written from scratch or copied from the last one |
When spreadsheets are enough
A solo practice with no review step, or a firm working on one project at a time, may never need more than a spreadsheet.
Once there are more projects than people can keep track of, try a comparison: put one project's next set through a checklist review in Kineo and compare the week with the last one.
Try Kineo on a project you're working on now
Set up a project with its contract and phases, invite your team, and give the assistant some of the routine work. Your first 14 days are free, with every feature included.