What the spreadsheet does well
It costs nothing, everyone already knows it, and it bends to any process. A sole recruiter with three open roles can run a perfectly good desk on one workbook and a mailbox.
Where it stops
The candidate is in five places. The resume is in email, the notes are in the sheet, the interview is in the calendar, the client's feedback is in a thread, and the fee is in an invoice file. Answering "where is Priya with the Meridian Pay role" means opening all five.
Two people, one sheet. The first time a colleague works the same search, versions diverge. Someone calls a candidate who was rejected yesterday.
Nothing reminds you. A sheet does not know the client's target date is next week, or that a candidate on notice becomes an immediate joiner on the 30th.
The fee is an afterthought. Placements, probation dates, invoices and payments live outside the sheet, so the money is tracked when it is late rather than when it is due.
What changes on the board
One row per requirement, one card per person, and the card carries its resume, notes, comments, interviews and history. Moving a card is the record. The client's target date sits on the row. Placements have a fee state, from pending start through probation to paid, and invoices are issued from them.
The parts a spreadsheet can never do: AI reads each resume and drafts a summary and a fit score for you to accept or ignore, and your own agents can work the same board through MCP.
Bring the sheet with you
Resumes can be dropped in bulk and parsed; the profile drafts wait for your review. Keep the sheet open for the first fortnight if you like. Most teams stop opening it.