For years, Excel was my go-to tool for running my small business. I tracked invoices in one sheet, client contacts in another, inventory in a third, and projects in yet another workbook. It worked — until it didn’t.

As my business grew, Excel became chaotic. I found myself copying and pasting the same information across sheets, losing track of the latest updates, and spending hours reconciling data. It was error-prone, time-consuming, and impossible to scale. I knew I needed something better.

That’s when I discovered Dolibarr.

In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly how I installed Dolibarr and completely replaced Excel for running my operations — in less than 24 hours. I’ll share what worked, what I learned, and why Dolibarr might be the game-changer you’re looking for if spreadsheets are holding you back.

Why I Needed to Replace Excel

Like many small business owners, I started with Excel because it was simple, familiar, and already installed on my computer. For a while, it was enough. I created templates for quotes and invoices, used SUM and VLOOKUP functions to track inventory, and kept running logs of client communication.

But as I added more clients, more products, more services, and more complexity, Excel became a bottleneck:

• Version control nightmares: I had multiple versions of the same file saved under different names.

• Data duplication: Client data was scattered across files, often inconsistently.

• No automation: Sending reminders or generating reports required manual work.

• No user management: Only I could update the files, creating a bottleneck.

• Zero integration: No connection between contacts, projects, quotes, and payments.

I needed a system that could centralize everything and scale with me.

Why I Chose Dolibarr

I explored a few options: expensive SaaS CRMs, paid ERPs, even building something custom. But most were either too costly, too complex, or too bloated with features I didn’t need.

Then I found Dolibarr — a free, open-source ERP and CRM platform. Here’s what caught my attention:

• Modular architecture: I could activate only the features I needed.

• Web-based: I could access it from anywhere.

• Open-source and free: No license costs.

• Self-hosted: Full control over data.

• Community and plugins: Active ecosystem for support and enhancements.

Dolibarr promised everything I needed without the overhead of bigger platforms.

Step 1: Preparing for Installation (1 Hour)

I chose to install Dolibarr on a VPS, but you can also do it locally or through shared hosting with Softaculous.

What I did:

• Bought a VPS with Ubuntu 22.04 from a hosting provider.

• Installed a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP).

• Downloaded the latest stable version of Dolibarr from the official site.

• Uploaded it to my server using FTP.

Tip: If you’re not comfortable with servers, use a provider like DoliCloud that offers managed Dolibarr hosting.

Once the files were uploaded, I ran the Dolibarr installer by accessing my domain. The installer walked me through the setup: database configuration, admin user creation, and system preferences.

Step 2: Initial Configuration (2 Hours)

After logging into the Dolibarr backend, I spent the next couple of hours tailoring it to fit my business.

Setting up my company profile:

• Business name, logo, address, contact details.

• Fiscal year, currency, and tax ID.

Activating key modules:

• Third Parties: To manage clients and suppliers.

• Invoicing: To replace my Excel invoice templates.

• Products/Services: To organize my service offerings.

• Projects and Tasks: To keep track of client work.

• Accounting (basic): For income and expense logging.

Customizing templates:

• I edited the default invoice and quote PDF templates to include my logo, brand colors, and footer notes.

• Set up default payment terms and tax rates.

Within two hours, Dolibarr started to resemble the control center I had always wanted.

Step 3: Importing My Data (4 Hours)

This was the most time-consuming part — not because of Dolibarr, but because my Excel files were messy.

What I imported:

• Clients: Using the CSV import tool, I brought in all my existing contacts.

• Products/Services: I created a clean spreadsheet with all my services, descriptions, and pricing.

• Past invoices: I added key invoices manually to have historical context.

• Projects: Created ongoing projects for current clients.

Tips for smooth importing:

• Clean your Excel files first.

• Map your columns correctly during import.

• Test with a few rows before importing everything.

By the end of this process, my Dolibarr instance had the core of my business fully set up.

Step 4: Replacing My Workflows (6–8 Hours)

With the data in place, it was time to switch my day-to-day operations to Dolibarr.

Invoicing:

• I created a new invoice for a client and emailed it directly from the platform.

• Payment tracking was now automated.

• I set up recurring invoices for retainer clients.

CRM:

• Each client now had a profile with contact history, tasks, quotes, and invoices attached.

• No more digging through folders to find information.

Project tracking:

• I broke down client work into tasks with deadlines.

• Logged time and progress inside each project.

Expense logging:

• I began logging all business expenses.

• Attached receipts as PDFs or images.

Calendar and reminders:

• I linked tasks to my calendar.

• Set reminders for follow-ups and payments.

After half a day of replacing workflows, I stopped opening Excel. I didn’t need it anymore.

Step 5: Final Touches and Automation (2–3 Hours)

To polish the setup and save time going forward, I added a few extra features.

Email templates:

• Created templates for sending invoices, payment reminders, and proposals.

Automatic backups:

• Set up cron jobs to back up the database daily.

User permissions:

• Added limited-access accounts for my assistant.

Dolistore plugins:

• Installed a Kanban view plugin for projects.

• Explored reporting add-ons for better financial dashboards.

What I Gained by Replacing Excel with Dolibarr

1. A Single Source of Truth

No more jumping between spreadsheets. All data — clients, invoices, tasks, payments — lives in one place.

2. Time Savings

Tasks that used to take hours now take minutes: generating invoices, checking payment status, preparing quotes.

3. Better Visibility

Dashboards give me real-time views of sales, expenses, and overdue payments.

4. Team Collaboration

Others can now access and update client info without breaking anything.

5. Professionalism

Invoices and quotes look sharp and consistent, which boosts my brand.

Challenges I Faced

• Learning curve: It took a few hours to understand the interface, but Dolibarr’s documentation helped.

• Data cleanup: Importing bad data from Excel leads to garbage in, garbage out. Prep your sheets!

• Customization limits: While customizable, some advanced changes require editing source code.

Would I Recommend Dolibarr?

Absolutely — especially if you’re:

• A freelancer or small business drowning in spreadsheets.

• Looking for a free alternative to paid CRMs or ERPs.

• Willing to spend a day setting things up for long-term efficiency.

Dolibarr gave me the structure and automation Excel never could. And I did it all in under 24 hours.

If you’re ready to ditch the spreadsheet chaos and run your business smarter, give Dolibarr a shot. You won’t look back.