Short answer: A spreadsheet is a good place to start. For a pilot of 10 to 20 styles with one or two factories, Excel or Google Sheets is often all a small fashion brand needs. Most brands outgrow it at one of six breaking points: SKU count, suppliers, file versions, certificates, passport publishing and audits. From there, a tool that keeps one record per product saves more time than it takes to set up.

We make Portia, so we have an interest in this question. We have tried to be honest about when a spreadsheet is the better choice, and we say so below. For other tools, see all our comparisons and buyer’s guides.

When is a spreadsheet enough?

More often than software vendors admit. If you are launching your first collection, testing a new category or running a Digital Product Passport (DPP) pilot on 10 to 20 styles, a well-structured spreadsheet is cheap, flexible and something everyone on the team already knows.

There is also no rush for passports yet. Textile DPPs are not mandatory today. The European Commission plans to adopt the textile delegated act in Q4 2027, and it can apply no earlier than 18 months after it enters into force, so mid-to-late 2029 at the earliest (our estimate). The ESPR Textile DPP Tracker keeps the dates up to date.

Use the pilot to learn which data you already have and which data you will need from suppliers. Our textile DPP data checklist lists the fields proposed in the JRC study and comes as a free XLSX or CSV template, so your pilot spreadsheet starts with the right columns.

The 6 breaking points: when a brand outgrows Excel

Spreadsheets rarely fail all at once. They get slower and riskier one problem at a time. These are the six points where we see small brands hit the limit.

1. SKU count

Every style becomes colours and sizes. Twenty styles in three colours and five sizes are already 300 variant rows, before you add materials, trims and suppliers. Formulas and lookups break, and copy-paste errors creep in.

The sign: you have split the file by season or category, and the same material or supplier appears in several tabs with slightly different details.

2. Suppliers

With one factory, an email thread works. With several factories, fabric mills and trim suppliers, data arrives in different formats, and someone on your team retypes it.

The sign: you ask the same supplier for the same information twice in one season. In Portia, tier-1 suppliers can log in to enter their own data and upload certificates, so nobody has to retype it.

3. Versions

“Line sheet final v3 (2).xlsx” is a familiar file name for a reason. Shared files in Google Sheets or Excel online help, but every editor can still change any cell, and copies made for a factory or an agent start to drift from the original.

The sign: two people disagree about a product’s composition, and both have a file to prove it. Portia keeps one record per product that the whole team works from.

4. Certificates

Organic, recycled-content and chemical-test certificates belong to a specific supplier, material or product, and they expire. In a spreadsheet they end up as file names, links to email attachments or a shared folder that only one person understands.

The sign: you can’t quickly say which products a certificate covers. In Portia, suppliers upload certificates together with the data they relate to.

5. Passport publishing

A spreadsheet can hold passport data, but it can’t publish a passport. Under the Ecodesign Regulation (ESPR), a passport must be connected through a data carrier to “a persistent unique product identifier” (Article 10(1)(a)) and must stay available even if the company that created it stops trading (Article 11(e)).

The sign: you are planning to build a web page per product by hand and print the QR codes yourself. With Portia, you choose the passport level (style, batch or individual item), and each passport is reached through a QR code. Passports are available in English, Swedish, German and Dutch, with more languages coming.

6. Audits

Sooner or later a retailer, a wholesale buyer or a customer asks where a product was made and what proves it. Since 27 September 2026, EU rules against generic environmental claims also apply (Directive (EU) 2024/825), so every claim needs evidence you can find.

The sign: answering one buyer questionnaire means days of searching through files and inboxes. When product data, suppliers and certificates sit in one place, the evidence behind a claim is easier to find and share.

If two or more of these sound familiar, it is usually time to move. Our free Product Operations Scorecard takes about 3 minutes and shows where your brand stands.

Portia vs spreadsheets: side by side

	Spreadsheet (Excel or Google Sheets)	Portia
Best for	A pilot of 10–20 styles, one or two factories, one file owner	Growing ranges, several suppliers and a team that shares product data
Getting started	Minutes; usually part of your existing office software	With your product data in a CSV and images ready, your first passport can be live in minutes
Pricing model	Usually included in software you already pay for	Pricing on request (book a demo)
Product structure	Rows and tabs you design and maintain yourself	One record per product with materials, components, suppliers and certificates
Supplier data	Sent by email or as files, then retyped	Tier-1 suppliers log in, enter data and upload certificates
Importing existing data	n/a	CSV import; AI-powered matching maps your sheet columns to the right fields
Passport publishing	Not possible on its own	Passports per style, batch or item, reached via QR codes
Passport languages	Whatever you type	English, Swedish, German and Dutch, with more languages coming
Shopify	Copy by hand or use Shopify’s own product CSV import	One-way integration: Portia pushes passport data to Shopify
Your data	The file is yours	Hosted in the EU (Ireland); export your data whenever you want

How to move from a spreadsheet to Portia

1. Tidy the spreadsheet. One row per style (or per variant, if that is how you work) and one column per field. Use the column names from the data checklist where you can.
2. Collect the images for each product in one folder.
3. Import the CSV. Portia’s AI-powered matching maps your columns, so materials, suppliers and other details end up in the right fields. With your product data in a CSV and images ready, your first passport can be live in minutes.
4. Invite your tier-1 suppliers to log in, complete their data and upload certificates.
5. Choose the passport level and publish. Style, batch or item, each passport reached through a QR code. If you sell on Shopify, the one-way Shopify integration pushes the passport data to your store.
6. Keep the old file as an archive. You can export your data from Portia whenever you want.

Already moved from spreadsheets to a PLM? You can use Portia as your fashion PLM or run it alongside your existing PLM or ERP by importing data. Portia has no ready-made PLM or ERP connectors, but custom integrations are available on request.

When Portia is not the right fit

A spreadsheet, or a different tool, is the better choice if:

• You have up to about 20 styles and no passport plans for the next year. Keep the spreadsheet and structure it well.
• You need multi-tier supply chain due diligence. Portia’s supplier portal covers tier-1 suppliers.
• You need environmental impact calculated in-house. Impact data is imported from partners or uploaded into Portia, not calculated there.
• You need NFC or RFID tags. Portia passports are reached through QR codes.
• You need a public API or two-way Shopify sync. Portia has a one-way Shopify integration and offers custom integrations on request.

Comparing several tools? The buyer’s guide to DPP software has 25 questions to ask every vendor, and our overview of Digital Product Passport software for small fashion brands explains how Portia works.

Sources and further reading

Last verified: 28 October 2026.

• Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), EUR-Lex
• Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition, EUR-Lex
• European Commission: Textile apparel and the Digital Product Passport

More from Portia:

• Compare DPP and PLM software
• Textile DPP data checklist (free template)
• Fashion PLM software for small and medium brands
• How to choose DPP software
• ESPR Textile DPP Tracker

Frequently asked questions

Can a small fashion brand manage product data in Excel?

Yes, up to a point. For a pilot of 10 to 20 styles with one or two factories and one person owning the file, a well-structured spreadsheet works. Most brands outgrow it when SKUs, suppliers, file versions or certificates multiply, or when they need to publish Digital Product Passports.

When should a fashion brand move from spreadsheets to PLM software?

Look at six breaking points: SKU count, number of suppliers, competing file versions, certificates, passport publishing and audits or buyer questionnaires. If two or more of them are slowing your team down, it is usually time to move product and supplier data into one system.

Can I create a Digital Product Passport from a spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet can hold the data, but it can’t publish a passport behind a data carrier such as a QR code. You can import the spreadsheet into Portia as a CSV. With your product data in a CSV and images ready, your first passport can be live in minutes.

Do I have to retype my spreadsheet data into Portia?

No. You import your product data as a CSV, and Portia’s AI-powered matching maps the columns so materials, suppliers and other details end up in the right fields. Tier-1 suppliers can then log in to complete their data and upload certificates.

Is a spreadsheet enough for a DPP pilot?

Often, yes. A pilot of 10 to 20 styles is a good way to learn which data you have and which you need from suppliers. Textile DPPs are not mandatory yet; the delegated act is planned for Q4 2027 and applies no earlier than 18 months later, so mid-to-late 2029 at the earliest (our estimate).

How much does Portia cost compared with a spreadsheet?

Pricing is on request. Book a demo with a few of your own styles and we will show you how Portia would fit your products and team, and whether a spreadsheet is still enough for now.

See Portia with your own spreadsheet

Bring a spreadsheet with a few of your styles to a short demo, and we’ll show you how it becomes product records and passports.