Comparison
Spreadsheets record what people typed. A quality system enforces what the plan says.
NominalQC was built by a quality professional who spent 16 years running quality in Excel — the free QC templates on this site exist because spreadsheets genuinely work for a while. This page is about the line where they stop working.
The short version: a spreadsheet can hold your data, but it can’t stop an inspection from being logged with an uncalibrated gauge, refuse to close a CAPA without an effectiveness check, or tell you who changed a cell and when. Those aren’t data problems; they’re enforcement problems.
| Capability | NominalQC | Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensional inspection log (measurements vs tolerances) | Yes — samples auto-checked against part tolerances, pass/fail computed at entry | Manual — formulas if you build and maintain them; nothing stops out-of-spec entries being logged as pass |
| Enforced inspection / control plans | Yes — Off / Pre-fill / Warn / Block enforcement; Block refuses off-plan saves | |
| SPC & process capability built in | Yes — X̄-R and I-MR charts, Cp/Cpk/Pp/Ppk, out-of-control flagging, print-ready report | DIY — chart templates exist (ours included), but limits and rules recompute only if the formulas survive editing |
| Layered process audits (CQI-8) | Yes — CQI-8 style: layers, cadence, rotation, auditor independence, compliance board | Manual scheduling and paper checklists |
| NCR + CAPA with 8D | Yes — NCRs, guided 8D / 5-Why / fishbone, printable 8D report, server-enforced closure gates | Log sheets — no closure gates, no workflow, no notifications |
| Gauge calibration management | Yes — cal tracking with event-backed dates; gauges with no cal evidence can’t be selected on inspections; overdue gauges flagged at the point of use | A due-date column — nothing connects it to the inspection being done with that gauge |
| Printable hold tags from live records | Yes — hold tags and NCR placards print pre-filled from the record | Retyped by hand into a Word template |
| Full document control (revisions, approvals, distribution) | Folder discipline | |
| Employee training records | A matrix tab | |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly tiers, unlimited users | Free — until an escape, a failed audit, or the one person who understands the workbook leaves |
| Getting started | Self-serve — 14-day trial, no credit card, live demo without signup | Already on every PC |
Excel is a Microsoft product; this page compares typical spreadsheet-based QC practice, not Microsoft’s software itself.
NominalQC
From $29/month flat, unlimited users. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
Excel spreadsheets
Free, plus the cost of every mistake it silently allows.
14-day free trial. No credit card. Or open the read-only live demo — no signup at all.