Inventory in Excel is a Yes for a count one person maintains, and a Partial or No for a shared item list, a goods-received note, a price that updates recipes, and an audit of who changed a figure. AKLI keeps stock per branch and still does recipe cost and digital HACCP. Neither one is your general ledger, and neither replaces the POS.
This is one comparison. The full set is all comparisons.
An on-hand count in a file one person maintains
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- Yes
One item list shared by every branch without a second copy
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- No
Par and reorder point per branch, from that branch’s usage
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- Partial
Purchase order tied to a goods-received note
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- Partial
Received price updates every recipe that uses the item
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- No
Theoretical versus actual food cost
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- No
Transfer recorded on the sending and receiving branch
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- Partial
History of who changed a count, and when
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- Partial
Timestamped HACCP log in the same login
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- No
Enough for one site and one owner
- AKLI
- Yes
- Excel-only inventory
- Yes
Replaces the accounting ledger
- AKLI
- No
- Excel-only inventory
- No
Replaces the POS
- AKLI
- No
- Excel-only inventory
- No
| Capability | Excel-only inventory | AKLI |
|---|---|---|
| An on-hand count in a file one person maintains | Yes | Yes |
| One item list shared by every branch without a second copy | No | Yes |
| Par and reorder point per branch, from that branch’s usage | Partial | Yes |
| Purchase order tied to a goods-received note | Partial | Yes |
| Received price updates every recipe that uses the item | No | Yes |
| Theoretical versus actual food cost | No | Yes |
| Transfer recorded on the sending and receiving branch | Partial | Yes |
| History of who changed a count, and when | Partial | Yes |
| Timestamped HACCP log in the same login | No | Yes |
| Enough for one site and one owner | Yes | Yes |
| Replaces the accounting ledger | No | No |
| Replaces the POS | No | No |
How to read Partial
Partial means the job can be done in Excel and usually is not durable. A par cell can exist. It is still a typed number that a second branch’s file does not share, and it does not know that branch’s usage. A goods-received tab can exist. It does not, by itself, stop someone booking the invoice quantity as stock. Version history in a hosted workbook is a file history, not a record that a count at 11pm was changed and by whom. The table does not name spreadsheet products or POS vendors.
Where AKLI says Yes, the job is on the single plan: stock per branch, purchasing through to goods received, recipe cost from the received price, theoretical versus actual food cost, and digital HACCP. See multi-branch inventory and purchasing and goods received.
When the workbook is still the right tool
One site, a short item list, and one person who likes the file can count in Excel and order from it. AKLI is the same Yes on “enough for one site and one owner,” because the product is not only for groups. The break is operational, not a slogan: a second file, a transfer entered once, a recipe cost that is a different sheet updated last quarter, and a temperature log that is a photo of paper. Those are how to set par levels from usage, the weekly food cost close, and AKLI versus spreadsheets for the costing side of the same story.
If the other tool is a stock system with no recipes, that comparison is AKLI versus count-only tools. The arithmetic you can do without either product is the food cost calculator.
Facts you can quote
Price, pricing unit, product languages, and HACCP jurisdictions. Figures below are as of 22 September 2026.
- Price
- SAR 299 / QAR 290 / AED 293 / BHD 30 / OMR 31 per branch per month, excluding VAT. Details
- Pricing unit
- Priced per branch, not per user. Unlimited team members are included. Details
- Product languages
- The product interface supports English, French, and Arabic. You choose the language in the product. This marketing site is available in English, French, and Arabic. Details
- HACCP jurisdictions
- Digital HACCP logs are timestamped and built to be exported for inspections under Qatar Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), UAE Food Safety Department, and Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) requirements. The logs do not, by themselves, make a kitchen compliant. Details
- As of
- 22 September 2026
Questions operators ask
When is Excel still enough for inventory?
One site, a short item list, and one person who likes the file can count in Excel and order from it. AKLI is also a Yes for one site and one owner, because the product is not only for groups. Neither one replaces the accounting ledger or the POS.
What breaks when a second branch has its own file?
A par cell can exist in Excel and is still a typed number that a second branch’s file does not share. A transfer entered once, a recipe cost on a different sheet updated last quarter, and a temperature log that is a photo of paper are the break.
Does a received price in Excel update every recipe?
No. Updating every recipe from the received price is a No for Excel-only inventory and a Yes for AKLI. Where AKLI says Yes, the job is on the single plan: stock per branch, purchasing through to goods received, recipe cost from the received price, theoretical versus actual food cost, and digital HACCP.