Ledger and a spreadsheet
Ledger or a decision log in a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet is where most teams start a decision log, and it works as long as someone keeps it up. Ledger keeps the same log with the numbers filled in for you, a reminder when each check date arrives and a record nobody can quietly rewrite.
Decision log 2026
Sheet · Last edited by someone, 7 weeks ago
Row 41: Raise the free trial to 21 days. Expected: more paid signups.
Result column: blank.
Raise the free trial to 21 days
- Trial-to-paid conversion≥ 9%
- Watching: support tickets per trialNo worse
- ReadingsDaily from Stripe
- Check onNov 30
The owner gets a reminder on Nov 30 with the readings on the page
What changes when the log keeps itself.
- 1
The numbers fill themselves in
Connect Stripe, Amplitude, Pipedrive or any tool with an MCP server, and readings arrive hourly, daily or weekly. Nobody copies a number into a cell on Monday morning.
- 2
The date comes back to you
When a decision's check date arrives, the person who wrote it gets a reminder by bell and email, with the evidence already attached.
- 3
A settled decision stays as it was
Once a decision is settled, nobody can edit the expectation or the verdict. A correction is a new decision that points back to the old one.
- 4
It checks the numbers you hoped wouldn't move
Each decision can watch numbers it shouldn't hurt, compared against the weeks before the change, so the side effects end up on the record.
- 5
You can see what the team has learned
Lessons stay searchable next to their decisions, the team sees how often its expectations held, and a coverage map shows the parts of the business nobody has decided on lately.
When Ledger is the right choice
- Your result columns keep ending up blank.
- The numbers live in tools like Stripe, Amplitude or Pipedrive.
- You need a record nobody can rewrite after the fact.
- You want a team record of how often expectations held, with no one ranked.
Job by job
Writing a decision
a spreadsheet: Add a row with whatever columns the template has.
Ledger: Name the numbers it should move, which way, by how much and by when.
Getting the numbers
a spreadsheet: Someone looks them up and types them into the sheet.
Ledger: Feeds bring them in from connected tools, with history backfilled.
Checking on time
a spreadsheet: Someone has to remember the date.
Ledger: The owner gets a reminder when the check date arrives.
Protecting the record
a spreadsheet: Anyone with edit access can change a past row.
Ledger: Settled decisions can only be replaced, and every change is kept in the audit log.
Judging the result
a spreadsheet: Whoever fills in the result column decides.
Ledger: The readings sit against the target, and a person marks it confirmed, mixed or missed.
Getting it out
a spreadsheet: It's already a spreadsheet.
Ledger: Export decisions as a spreadsheet, or send a metric's history to a Napkin sheet with its chart.
Start from the sheet you already keep.
Ledger reads the spreadsheets your team already has, so the history comes with you on day one.
- Hand Zero your KPI sheet, and it matches the columns to metrics and records the history.
- Paste a column of dated readings straight into a metric.
- Export your decisions as a spreadsheet whenever someone wants one.
Questions
- Can we bring our existing decision log?
- Yes. Upload it to a folder or paste it in, and Zero drafts the decisions for your team to keep or drop. Imported decisions usually read as low confidence, since the expectation was written after the change.
- Can we still get our data out as a spreadsheet?
- Yes. Decisions export as a spreadsheet, and a metric's history can go to a Napkin sheet with its chart.
- Can we add readings without connecting our tools?
- Yes. You can paste readings, type them in or send them from your code with an API key.
- How does Ledger show how well the team decides?
- Ledger shows how often the team's expectations held across the whole workspace, and it never splits that by person.
Try Ledger with your domain.
Bring the sheet you already keep, and let the next check date come to you.
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If you'd like help with the first changes, talk to us.