Excel is brilliant for 1-10 funds. At 15-30+ funds with multi-currency portfolios, team collaboration, and fast commitment decisions, it becomes too fragile to trust—so you avoid using it for the decisions that matter most.
Here's exactly when you need to switch from a spreadsheet you're afraid to touch to a portfolio model you'll actually rely on.
Excel is one of the greatest software products ever built. It's flexible, powerful, and everyone knows how to use it. For managing 1-10 private fund commitments, Excel is often the right tool.
But Excel wasn't designed for managing 30+ private funds across multiple currencies with forward-looking projections and team collaboration. That's where it breaks.
Bottom line: If you're here, stick with Excel. It's free, flexible, and does everything you need.
Bottom line: If you're here, Excel is costing you 40+ hours per quarter in manual work and preventing fast commitment decisions.
| Feature | Excel | Nagare |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Funds | 1-10 (Great) 15-30 (Struggles) 30+ (Breaks) | Unlimited (Production database) |
| Multi-Currency Support | Manual FX conversions (Error-prone) | 180+ currencies Automatic conversions |
| Team Collaboration | Version chaos Email attachments | Real-time Single source of truth |
| Scenario Modeling Time | 2-3 days (Rebuild model) | 30 seconds (Click + calculate) |
| Blended Actuals + Projections | Manual copy/paste Broken formulas | Automatic Always current |
| Forward-Looking Liquidity Planning | Manual updates Often out of date | Automatic 2-10 year forecast Capital calls by quarter |
| J-Curve Modeling | Manual per fund Hard to maintain | Automatic per fund type Calibrated to benchmarks |
| Monte Carlo Simulation | Excel add-ins (Limited, slow) | 1,000+ iterations Industry-validated math |
| Audit Trail | Manual comments Often missing | Every calculation logged Full history |
| GP Document Import | Manual data entry 10+ hours/quarter | AI extraction 30 minutes/quarter |
| Cost | Free | $0-$42K/year (ROI: 940% year 1) |
| Setup Time | 1-2 weeks (Build model) | 1-3 days (Import data) |
You know it's time to switch when you experience these pain points:
""This worked last quarter. I changed nothing. Now it shows #REF! errors everywhere. I have no idea why.""
""Is Portfolio_Model_v23_final_FINAL_USE_THIS_2.xlsx the latest version? Or was it the one Alex emailed yesterday?""
""GP wants an answer on this $15M co-invest by EOD Friday. It will take me 3 days to update the model. I'm guessing.""
""IC asks: 'What if we don't commit to Fund X?' I need 2 days to rebuild the model. Meeting adjourned.""
""My analyst spends 40 hours per quarter copying numbers from GP statements. They were hired for strategy, not data entry.""
""We have funds in USD, EUR, GBP, and CHF. Manual FX conversions. Errors compound. I don't trust the numbers anymore.""
Sound familiar?
You've hit Excel's scaling limit. It's not your fault—it's just not designed for this use case.
Try Nagare Free (Up to 10 Funds)No need to rebuild from scratch. Export your fund parameters and transactions to CSV. Nagare can import your existing Excel model.
Create funds in Nagare (one-time setup). Import fund parameters: commitment size, vintage year, currency, fund type, target returns.
Upload capital calls, distributions, and NAV updates. Bulk import via CSV or AI extraction from GP statements. Nagare validates and imports.
Compare Nagare's projections to your Excel model. Tweak fund parameters until projections match. Nagare's math is validated—your Excel formulas may have errors.
Keep Excel updated in parallel for 1-2 quarters while you build confidence in Nagare. Once validated, retire the spreadsheet.
Keep the Excel file as historical reference. But you're now running on production-grade infrastructure that won't break at 30+ funds.
Timeline: Most family offices complete migration in 1-3 days.
Net Annual Cost Difference: $74,940
In exchange, you get: Fast commitment decisions, real-time IC answers, and 120 hours of high-value analyst time back per year.
Try Nagare free for up to 10 funds. See if it's right for your portfolio. No credit card required.
Free for up to 10 private funds • No credit card required