In this guide 6 sections
A sheet suits a distributor with a few dozen families and one person doing the upkeep. A ready platform pays off once folios, SIP dates and trail commission statements outgrow manual matching. Decide by how many hours month-end reconciliation takes, not by the feature list.
What a portfolio sheet does well
A well kept workbook is cheap, flexible and yours. One tab per family, a master tab of folios and a lookup against the daily NAV file can serve a small book for years. Changes take minutes. Nobody raises a ticket with a vendor. A new column for a new fund house costs one afternoon.
It also fits how many distributors already think. You know each client’s history. The sheet only records it.
The trouble starts when the person who built it goes on leave. Formulas break and nobody knows why. Size matters less than dependence on one head and one laptop.
Where folios, SIPs and holdings outgrow it
A single client may hold ten folios across several fund houses, in joint and sole names, with nominees changed midway. Each new SIP adds a mandate, a debit date and a bank account that can fail.
Sheets handle holdings well. Events are harder. That is where they fray. A bounced mandate, a stopped SIP or a switch between schemes needs a dated trail, or the client report cannot say why units changed.
Ask how you would list every SIP that failed this month, right now. When it means a filter plus a phone call per row, take that as your first signal. A platform would show the bounce reason, the mandate number and the date the bank rejected the debit, all on one screen for the dealer.
- Folio and holding statements from CAMS and KFintech
- SIP start, pause, stop and bounce history
- Switches and redemptions with dates
- Nominee and bank detail changes
- Joint holder and minor accounts
Trail commission matching is the real test
Each AMC sends a brokerage statement that must match what your clients actually hold. Mismatches come from transferred folios, wrong ARN tags and clients who moved to a direct plan without telling you.
In a sheet this becomes a weekend job every month. You paste statements, run lookups and chase differences one fund house at a time. Platforms import the statements and flag unmatched lines.
Measure the gap with last quarter’s files. Time the whole match from first paste to last query, and count the lines you resolved by phone. If it eats more than one working day, the sheet already costs you more than a subscription would.
Client reports and what clients ask for
Clients ask for capital gains statements, XIRR by goal and a single-page view of holdings. They want it on a phone. They want it before the return is filed.
A sheet can produce each of these with effort, once per client, by hand. A platform produces them on demand with your logo, and a client login lets people see their own folios without calling you.
Check privacy too. A workbook of PAN numbers and bank details passed around on WhatsApp is a risk. Roles and access logs on a platform make it much easier to show who opened which client file.
- Capital gains by financial year
- XIRR by portfolio and by goal
- Holdings with current value
- SIP calendar for the coming quarter
A way to decide this quarter
Run the match on one AMC statement both ways. Time the sheet, then ask two platform vendors to import the same file during a demo and note every line they could not match.
Count staff touch points per client per month. If that number climbs as families join, the sheet will not keep up. Fix it before the busy season, not during.
Pick the option whose weak spot you can live with, and write down the date you will review the choice. A review date keeps a temporary workaround from becoming permanent. Put it in the calendar of whoever holds the client book, together with the three numbers you measured today.
Sheet versus platform trial worksheet
Trial worksheet, split into three blocks. Block one lists test items: one AMC brokerage match, one failed SIP search, one capital gains report and one client login. Block two has columns for hours taken in your sheet and in each platform, plus unmatched lines. Block three records staff touch points per client and the date of your review.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
When is a sheet still the right choice?
When one person keeps it, the book is small and the monthly brokerage match finishes quickly. Keep a copy off the laptop and document the formulas so someone else can take over.
Can a platform import CAMS and KFintech files?
Most can, but check with your own files. Ask for a demo using last month’s statement so you see the unmatched lines and the wrong ARN tags.
Do I need a client login?
Not at first. It becomes useful when clients keep asking for statements and capital gains reports, because it removes repeat calls.
Should I build custom software instead?
Only if your workflow differs from what ready platforms offer, for example a sub-broker network with its own payout rules. Try a ready option first. A short list of gaps from a real trial is a far better brief for a custom build than a wish list written before the trial.