Excel vs Google Sheets vs LibreOffice for GST Invoices (What We Tested)

TemplateHub files are saved as .xlsx from Excel, then opened in Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc before they are published. This page is the failure log — not a marketing comparison. If you only use one app, skip to the section that matches it.

I (Arshad Ansari) run this pass on every GST and bookkeeping workbook. The GST invoice and RCM self invoice both had to be redesigned once because of Sheets locale and once because of LibreOffice named ranges.

What works in all three

• =B12*C12 for taxable value.
• =D12*(E12/2) for CGST when E12 is the GST rate (0.18, not 18 — see below).
• =SUM() on a contiguous tax column.
• Data validation from a cell range on the same sheet (5%, 12%, 18%, 28%).

Failure 1 — GST rate as 18 instead of 0.18

Excel will happily compute taxable * 18 / 2 if you write it that way. In Sheets, people type 18 in a cell formatted as percent and get 1800%. Our sheets treat the GST rate cell as 0.18 with a percent format, and the formula is always taxable * rate / 2. If you type 18, the sample row looks absurd on purpose so you notice.

Failure 2 — GSTIN stored as a number

Excel drops the 15th character or scientific-notates the GSTIN. Sheets is slightly more forgiving but still corrupts values that look like numbers. The GSTIN cells are formatted as Text before any sample GSTIN is typed. If you paste from a portal, paste with Text formatting on, or prefix with an apostrophe.

Failure 3 — ₹ in the formula

="₹"&TEXT(G20,"#,##0.00") looks fine in Excel with an Indian locale. Sheets on a US account shows $ or breaks the TEXT pattern. Amount-in-words on our files is a manual cell plus a numeric grand total. That is less magical and survives locale changes.

Failure 4 — Print titles and A4

Excel keeps Print Titles (repeat header row). Sheets ignores Excel print titles until you set them under File → Print. LibreOffice keeps page style but often loses Fit-to-1-page. We keep the invoice inside ~40 rows and avoid a second header table so a default A4 print from Sheets still fits.

Failure 5 — Excel Tables and structured references

=SUM(Invoice[CGST]) is pleasant in Excel and does not reliably open in LibreOffice. TemplateHub item blocks are ordinary ranges. Insert a row inside the block (not below the SUM) so totals still cover the new line.

Failure 6 — VBA and macros

Macros are blocked in Sheets and scare email filters. There are none. If a "GST Excel" you downloaded elsewhere asks you to Enable Content, do not use it on a machine with your GST portal password saved.

Which app should you standardise on?

| Situation | Use | |---|---| | You already file from Excel and print from Windows | Excel — native file | | Two people edit the same invoice file | Google Sheets — one link, download .xlsx when sending PDF | | Air-gapped office, no Microsoft licence | LibreOffice — open the same .xlsx | | Customer demands a PDF | Any app → export PDF; do not send a live sheet they can edit |

For the publishing checklist behind these tests, see how we build templates.

FAQ

Will Google Sheets change my CGST formula?

Simple multiply/divide and SUM survive. What does not survive is Excel-only functions and structured Table names.

Can I convert to Google Sheets and keep using it there?

Yes. File → Open in Sheets, then Download → Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) if you need to send a file. Re-check GSTIN cells after the round trip.

Why not Google Sheets-native files?

Search users still type "Excel template". One .xlsx that opens in three apps is the distribution format. Native Sheets would be a second artefact to keep in sync.