Accrue vs a spreadsheet
Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets against a purpose-built app, compared on rule checks, signatures, forms and cost.
The short answer
A spreadsheet is free, fully flexible and entirely yours, and it checks nothing: you write every formula and keep up with each rule change. Accrue applies cited program and board rules to the same rows, adds a session timer and supervisor signing, and starts at $4.99 a month. Many trainees start in a spreadsheet and move later. Accrue reads its own CSV template, which opens in any spreadsheet app.
Side by side
| Feature | A spreadsheet | Accrue |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Anyone comfortable building their own totals, in any program or state. | Therapy trainees and associates in marriage and family therapy, professional counseling, clinical social work and doctoral psychology. Schools can ask for a program package. |
| License types and states | Whatever you build. A spreadsheet does not know a board's rules. | All four license families. Cited board presets in 13 states, listed on Requirements by state. Every other state gets a labeled placeholder ledger with no invented figures. |
| Platforms | Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets or any spreadsheet app, on whatever device opens them. | iPhone, Android and the web, on one account. |
| Logging | Type one row per activity. Formulas and formats are yours to set up and maintain. | A plus button with remembered choices, a session timer, and site schedules and class meetings confirmed in one tap. |
| Board and program requirement tracking | None built in. You write the formulas and update them when a rule changes. | One logged activity counts toward several independent board and program ledgers, each under its own cited rule. Accrue is a record-keeping aid and does not decide whether hours are accepted. |
| Supervisor signatures | None. Print the form your program or board asks for and have it signed. | The supervisor signs a weekly summary on the trainee's phone with a drawn signature. |
| Forms and exports | You build any form or export yourself. | Weekly summaries, a comprehensive PDF, CSV hours, the California BBS weekly log and experience verification forms filled in, and filing guidance for Texas LPC and New York LCSW. Review every form with your supervisor. |
| Moving your hours in | Save the sheet as CSV and arrange the columns to match Accrue's template. | Imports its own CSV template, free at the clinical hours log template. A file from another tracker can be rearranged into that template first. |
| Price | Free. Accrue's template is a free CSV and needs no account. | $4.99 a month, $49.99 a year or $89.99 once. See pricing. |
| Trial | Not applicable. | 7 days on the monthly plan and 14 days on the annual plan. The one-time purchase has no trial. |
Prices and features checked 13 November 2026; they change, so check each product's own site.
Where a spreadsheet is stronger
- It is free and needs no account.
- It is flexible. If your program has an unusual rule, you can build the column for it today.
- You hold the file, can work offline and can print or share it however you like.
- It suits a short placement with simple totals.
Where Accrue is stronger
- It applies cited board and program rules to each entry, including weekly supervision gates and caps, so you see how hours count while you log them.
- One logged activity counts toward several independent board and program ledgers.
- A session timer, remembered choices, and site schedules and class meetings confirmed in one tap, on iPhone, Android and the web.
- The supervisor signs a weekly summary on your phone with a drawn signature.
- The California BBS weekly log and experience verification forms filled in, and filing guidance for Texas LPC and New York LCSW.
Moving your hours to Accrue
Accrue reads its own CSV template, so a spreadsheet is the easiest source to move. If your sheet has different columns, rearrange them to match.
Accrue imports its own CSV template today:
- Download the template and open it in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
- Copy your hours in, one row per activity, with the date, activity, duration as h:mm, site and supervisor. Leave client names out.
- Save the file as CSV. In Accrue on iPhone, open Hours, tap Export, and choose Import a spreadsheet.
- Review the sites and supervisors Accrue created and any row it could not read. Importing the same file again does not add the same rows twice.
Each imported row is then counted against your program and board ledgers. Accrue does not have a direct importer for another tracker's files, and a counted hour is a record, not a sign that a board or program has accepted it. The template columns are on the template page.
Common questions
- Is a spreadsheet enough to track clinical hours?
- It can hold the record. It does not check weekly supervision, caps on some activities or time limits, so you apply those rules yourself and keep up with each change. Accrue applies cited rules to the same rows.
- Is there a free clinical hours template?
- Yes. Accrue's clinical hours log template is a free CSV that opens in Excel, Numbers and Google Sheets, and you do not need an account to use it.
- Can I import my spreadsheet into Accrue?
- Yes, if it follows Accrue's template. Accrue lists any row it cannot read with the reason, and importing the same file again does not add the same rows twice.
- Does a spreadsheet replace signed forms?
- No. A spreadsheet is not a signature. Keep the signed forms your program or board asks for.
Sources
Sources checked
Prices and features checked 13 November 2026; they change, so check each product's own site.
Excel is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation, Google Sheets of Google LLC and Numbers of Apple Inc. Accrue is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by them.
Accrue is a record-keeping aid and is not affiliated with any licensing board, accreditor or school. Your board and program decide which hours they accept.