# Camelus vs a feedback spreadsheet

> When a spreadsheet or Notion page of feature requests stops working, what Camelus does instead, and how to import your sheet.

Most founders start with a spreadsheet, a Notion page or a Slack channel: paste each request in, add a tally, sort by count. It's free and it works, until there are a few hundred rows, three products and messages in four languages. Here's what changes when you move to Camelus, and when you shouldn't bother.

## What a spreadsheet does well

- It costs nothing and everyone knows how to use it.
- You decide every column.
- For a few requests a week from one product, it's enough.

## Where it breaks

| | Spreadsheet | Camelus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Getting feedback in | Copy and paste from email, chat and your widget | Widget, forwarded email, REST API, Polar cancellations, CSV import: it arrives on its own |
| Duplicates | You decide by eye whether two rows are the same request | Similar messages are grouped into themes, across languages; you can correct any grouping |
| Counting | A tally that counts messages, so the loudest person wins | Each person counts once; paying customers and verified users weigh more |
| Revenue | Looked up by hand, if at all | MRR affected per theme when Polar is connected |
| Staying current | Someone has to keep it up to date | A real-time Inbox and a digest every morning |
| Personal data | Names and emails in a shared sheet | Original text visible only to your workspace; summaries carry no personal data |
| Telling people it shipped | Find the rows, find the emails, write each one | Drafted email to everyone who asked, sent after your approval |
| Several products | One tab per product, or one long sheet | One Inbox, themes per product |

## Moving over

Export your sheet as CSV and import it in the Inbox (**Import CSV**). Columns are matched by name (`text`, `email`, `name`, `created_at`, `external_id`, `title`), and you can change the mapping before importing. Old feedback is grouped into themes like new feedback, and keeps its original date, so recent requests still weigh more.

## When to stay with the spreadsheet

If you get a handful of requests a month, from one product, in one language, a spreadsheet is fine. Camelus's Free plan (1 product, 100 items a month) is there for when it stops being fine.