Comparison
Excel Spreadsheet vs Salahiya for UAE Document Tracking
Most UAE companies start with a spreadsheet, and for a handful of employees that is genuinely fine. The problems appear at scale: nobody owns the file, alerts depend on someone remembering to look, and there is no audit trail.
A spreadsheet cannot remind you
Conditional formatting only warns you when the file is open. Salahiya emails the right person at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days without anyone opening anything.
Alerts before every deadline
Salahiya emails you at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days before a residence visa, Emirates ID, labour card, passport or health card expires — so no renewal is missed.
Audit-ready PDF reports
Export branded expiry reports grouped by employee for management, PRO agents, auditors or free-zone authorities in one click.
Access control instead of shared files
Rather than emailing copies around, each staff member gets an account with only the permissions you grant, and every change is recorded in an audit log.
When a spreadsheet is enough
Fewer than about five employees, one person responsible, and no auditors asking for evidence. If that describes you, keep the spreadsheet — and use our free visa expiry calculator to check individual dates.
When it stops being enough
Once you pass ten employees, add a second HR user, or start getting asked for compliance evidence, the spreadsheet becomes the risk. Manual data entry errors in expiry dates are the single most common cause of missed renewals.
Migrating takes minutes
Export your sheet to CSV and import it. Every row is validated, dates in mixed formats are corrected, and errors are shown in plain language per row before anything is saved.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I keep using Excel alongside Salahiya?
- Yes. You can export data to CSV or PDF at any time, so Excel remains available for ad-hoc analysis.
- Is there a free plan to test the migration?
- Yes, the free plan covers 2 employees so you can validate the workflow before paying.
Put every expiry date on autopilot
Add your employees, scan their documents, and let Salahiya email you before each renewal. Free plan available, AED billing, no long-term contract.