Compare your options
COIScreen vs. Excel & Google Sheets
A spreadsheet works well when tracking fewer than 10 vendors manually, but requires typing every policy date and limit by hand; COIScreen reads ACORD 25 PDFs in under 7 seconds, checks endorsement pages automatically, and sends scheduled renewal emails without manual calendar reminders.
Side-by-side comparison (as of October 19, 2026)
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| Dimension | COIScreen | Excel & Google Sheets | Source (as of October 19, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data entry per certificate | Automatic optical extraction of insurer, policy number, dates, limits, and endorsement pages in under 7 seconds | Manual typing per certificate from PDF to spreadsheet cells | COIScreen Free COI Tracking Spreadsheet Template (/templates/coi-tracking-spreadsheet) (as of October 19, 2026) |
| Endorsement verification (CG 20 10 / CG 20 37) | Automatically inspects attached pages for form numbers and scheduled Additional Insured names | Requires manually reading every page of the PDF and updating Y/N columns | COIScreen Free COI Tracking Spreadsheet Template (/templates/coi-tracking-spreadsheet) (as of October 19, 2026) |
| Renewal reminders | Automated 5-touch email & SMS reminders at 30, 14, 7, 0, and +3 days | Manual email follow-ups and calendar reminders | COIScreen Free COI Tracking Spreadsheet Template (/templates/coi-tracking-spreadsheet) (as of October 19, 2026) |
| Audit history | Append-only audit log of every upload, field correction, and manual override | Cells overwritten on each renewal unless manually archived | COIScreen Free COI Tracking Spreadsheet Template (/templates/coi-tracking-spreadsheet) (as of October 19, 2026) |
When to choose each option
A spreadsheet works well when tracking fewer than 10 vendors manually, but requires typing every policy date and limit by hand; COIScreen reads ACORD 25 PDFs in under 7 seconds, checks endorsement pages automatically, and sends scheduled renewal emails without manual calendar reminders. Check an ACORD 25 certificate in under 7 seconds on the free checker to see how COIScreen reads your own vendor PDFs.