The paper book and the spreadsheet: what they do well, and where they break

What paper and spreadsheets do very well

Paper never breaks down and needs no training. A spreadsheet is flexible: you put exactly the columns you want in it, you calculate what you want, and nobody imposes a structure on you. For a school starting with twelve students, that is more than enough, and it is even the right choice.

• No dependence on a connection.
• No subscription, no account to create.
• Total freedom over the columns.
• No cost to start.

Where it breaks

The paper book loses its memory: nobody remembers the attendance of 12 March, or who validated which form. The spreadsheet, meanwhile, fragments: one tab for attendance, one for payments, one for belts, and soon nobody knows which one is authoritative. Work gets copied from tab to tab, and a moved formula makes a balance disappear.

• Attendance and payments in separate files.
• Manual copying from tab to tab.
• No access from the phone, at the edge of the mat.
• A formula error wipes a balance without warning.

What an app changes, and what it does not

Martialnote links what the spreadsheet separates: a visit feeds the monthly count, the list of active students and progress tracking. It is made for the phone, fits in one hand and works with no network in the room. It changes nothing about the way you teach, and it still does not collect your students' money.

• Data entered once, reused everywhere.
• Made for the phone, at the edge of the mat.
• Your data exportable at any time.
• No handling of student payments.