7 Signs You’ve Outgrown Your Spreadsheets and Need a Real E-Commerce Business Analytics Tool

Everything you need to know about Business Analytics Tools.

We’re in 2025.
Studio Ghibli has reached the remotest corners of the world. People are creating Ghibli-fied versions of everything; partners, pets, yoga studios, even their mood swings.

And yet… you’re still using spreadsheets?

Now, I’m going to say this as gently as I can: if you’re running a business in 2025 and still managing your data in spreadsheets, you’re this close to getting tagged as “still living under a rock.”

Don’t get me wrong, spreadsheets are great. They help us crunch numbers, sort columns, and pretend we know Excel formulas. They’re perfect for tracking grocery expenses or splitting brunch bills.

But when it comes to running an e-commerce growing business? They fall short. They don’t update in real time. They break if someone even thinks about sneezing on a formula. And they weren’t built to handle the multi-source, multi-channel chaos that modern businesses swim in every day.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the telltale signs it’s time to ditch your spreadsheets and upgrade to a modern business analytics tool that actually keeps up.

Ready? Let’s diagnose.

7 Signs You Need a Real E-Commerce Business Analytics Tool

​Alright, grab your coffee and settle in. Let’s dive into the 7 signs you need a real business analytics tool.

1. Your Data is Scattered Across Multiple Spreadsheets

Picture this: your sales data is in one spreadsheet, marketing metrics in another, and inventory levels? Who knows where.

When data is siloed across various spreadsheets, getting a unified view of your business becomes a tiresome treasure hunt. This fragmentation not only wastes time but also increases the risk of errors. 

As Veda Bawo, Director of Data Governance at Raymond James, aptly puts it:​

“You can have all of the fancy tools, but if [your] data quality is not good, you’re nowhere.”

A centralized business analytics tool consolidates all your data, providing a single source of truth.

2. You Spend Too Much Time Manually Updating Information

If updating your spreadsheets feels like a full-time job, consuming even your lunch break’s time, then it’s a red flag. Manual data entry is not only tedious but also prone to mistakes. 

Dan Vesset, Group Vice President at IDC, highlights the inefficiency of spreadsheets here:

“People spend 60% to 80% of their time trying to find data. It’s a huge productivity loss.”

Whereas, modern analytics tools automate data collection and updates, freeing you to focus on analysis and strategy rather than data maintenance.

3. You Struggle to Gain Actionable Insights

Having data is one thing; making sense of it is another. If your current setup leaves you staring at numbers without clear insights, it’s time for a change. 

Hilary Mason, data scientist and founder of Fast Forward Labs, emphasizes:

“The core advantage of data is that it tells you something about the world that you didn’t know before.”

Advanced analytics platforms offer intuitive visualizations and dashboards, turning complex data into actionable intelligence.

4. Tracking Sales and Inventory Feels Overwhelming

Balancing sales performance with inventory levels using spreadsheets can quickly become unmanageable, especially as your business grows.

A business analytics tool can provide real-time tracking and forecasting, helping you maintain optimal stock levels and avoid overstocking or stockouts.

5. Collaboration Is Difficult With Spreadsheets

Ever dealt with version control issues or overwritten data because multiple team members are editing the same spreadsheet?

Collaboration challenges can hinder productivity and lead to costly mistakes. 

Business analytics tools often come with collaborative features, ensuring everyone works with the most up-to-date information without stepping on each other’s toes.

6. You Can’t Easily Monitor Performance Across E-Commerce Platforms

Let’s say, you’re selling on Shopify, Etsy, and maybe even running a few Instagram DMs on the side. Now it’s Monday morning, and you just want a quick snapshot of how your sales performed last week? 

But instead of checking one clean dashboard, you’re opening five tabs, downloading four CSVs, and trying to match up dates and product SKUs like you’re solving a rubik’s cube. Consolidating performance metrics manually from different platforms  is a nightmare. 

An analytics tool can integrate data from various sources, giving you a comprehensive view of your business’s performance across all channels.

7. You’re Missing Out on Growth Opportunities Due to Data Limitations

Without deep insights into customer behavior, market trends, and operational efficiency, identifying growth opportunities is like finding a needle in a haystack.

A robust analytics tool like doola can uncover patterns and trends that are invisible in traditional spreadsheets, empowering you to make informed decisions that drive growth.

Recognizing these signs is the first step toward enhancing your business’s data strategy. Now let’s get to how you can take advantage of business analytics tools to optimize your business.

Tips to Use Business Analytics Tools to Optimize Your Business

Here are practical tips on how to use business analytics tools to actually optimize your business:

Start With the Right Questions

Before you drown in dashboards and charts, ask yourself this: What are you actually trying to solve?

Analytics is about finding answers to real business pain.

If customers are leaving, dig into why— look at refund reasons, drop-off points, churn trends.

If cash flow’s a mess, study payment delays, invoice cycles, and when suppliers need to be paid. 

Without a clear question, your data is just… noise. 

Clean Data Beats More Data

Let’s say you run a BigCommerce store selling skincare products. You launch a paid ad campaign for your best-selling Vitamin C serum and spend $1,000 on Instagram ads. But sales barely move.

You start thinking, maybe the creative didn’t work? Maybe the product’s saturated?

Turns out, the product was marked as “unavailable” in your backend due to a mismapped inventory sync with your warehouse software. For 10 days, it showed up in ads but couldn’t be purchased.

We’ve also seen stores where discount codes weren’t applied properly because of a broken checkout plugin. Analytics said revenue was up, until they realized half of the orders were canceled due to pricing errors.

Or worse, your CRM counts the same customer three times because they signed up with a Gmail, a work email, and once via Apple ID. You think you’ve got 2,000 active customers, but it’s actually 1,200.

Now your LTV, AOV, and CAC math? All wrong.

Moral of the story: You don’t need more data. You need better data.

So, audit your tools. Sync your platforms.

And clean the mess before you read the reports.

Because if the input’s off, the output will lead you straight into bad decisions.

Use Predictive Analytics to Plan Ahead, Not Just Look Back

Looking at past reports helps you understand what happened. But if you only rely on history, you’re missing opportunities to plan smarter for what’s next.

Take this example:

A coffee chain realized that weather and time of day had a big impact on how many people came in. So, they started combining weather forecasts with their foot traffic data.

When they saw that rainy Tuesday mornings after 9 a.m. were usually slower, they simply stocked less inventory during that window. That small adjustment reduced their product waste by 18%.

And you don’t need a data science team to pull this off. Tools like Power BI, Google Sheets (with forecasting add-ons), or Tableau can help you build simple models that predict trends based on past patterns.

Follow Your Customers’ Digital Breadcrumbs

Your customers are already telling you what they care about— you just need to pay attention to their behavior.

One SaaS company discovered something surprising. Their highest-paying customers weren’t the ones using every feature. They were the ones who watched a specific 15-minute onboarding webinar.

That one touchpoint created enough clarity and confidence to keep them around for the long haul.

So, instead of only segmenting by age or gender, start tracking things like: Did they attend a webinar? Did they use a feature in the first week? Did they open your last three emails?

Behavioral data is where the real insights are hiding.

Use Pricing as a Growth Lever. Not Just a Number

Brands obsess over testing ad headlines. But pricing often takes the back seat.

One DTC skincare brand decided to test a simple hypothesis: raise the price of their best-selling serum by 10%. Not only did conversions stay steady, sales also increased.

Why? The new price made the product feel more premium, aligning with customer perception.

You don’t need enterprise software to test this. Just run a pricing simulation in Google Sheets: What happens if you increase the price by $2? What if you offer bundles?

Small tweaks can reveal massive missed revenue.

Find Operational Leaks That Are Draining You

You’d be surprised how much waste hides in everyday operations.

A factory reduced breakdowns by 22%—just by tracking early signs from machine sensors.

In e-commerce, it could be slow shipping routes, missed handovers, or long customer wait times.

Start asking: Where are we losing time, money, or effort?

Look for Fraud in the Weird Stuff

Fraud doesn’t always show up with a big red warning. Sometimes, it hides in small, strange patterns.

Take this real example:

A restaurant chain ran its usual sales report and noticed something odd. One location had way more cash transactions than the others, even though the number of customers was about the same. Turns out, the manager was quietly skimming money from cash sales. The numbers gave it away.

That’s the power of spotting outliers.

If something doesn’t add up, like a spike in returns, a sudden dip in profit margin, or strange payment patterns, it’s worth digging into.

You don’t need to be a data analyst to see when something feels wrong. You just need to know where to look, and trust your gut when the numbers don’t behave like they should.

Don’t Just Watch Dashboards. Automate What Happens Next

Fancy dashboards are nice to look at, but if they aren’t prompting action, they’re just decoration.

Let’s say your return rate jumps 20% in a week. Wouldn’t you want to know immediately?

Set up alerts like:

• “Ping me on Slack if refund volume exceeds 30 orders today”

• “Email me if our best-selling SKU hits less than 10 in stock”

Tools like Zapier, Shopify Flow, or Klaviyo can automate these alerts so you act before things spiral.

Let your data push you, not the other way around.

Unlock the Power of Advanced E-Commerce Analytics With doola

If you’re managing an e-commerce business, you already know how messy things get— orders flying in from multiple platforms, inventory scattered, and data living in 12 different tabs.

That’s where doola Analytics comes in. And here’s the best part: It’s included in your $300/year bookkeeping software subscription at no additional cost.

What Is doola Analytics?

doola Analytics is a built-in feature within our bookkeeping software designed specifically for e-commerce business owners.

Here’s what it lets you do:

• Track your best-performing products across platforms

• Monitor fulfillment status and spot order trends

• Get a clear view of inventory movement

• Filter your dashboard by platform, payment status, order status, or date

• Export reports as .CSV files for deeper analysis

Whether you sell on Shopify, Amazon, or both— doola pulls together your store data into one intuitive dashboard, so you don’t have to jump between tabs or download 10 different reports.

Why Founders Love It

🏆 All-in-one dashboard: Orders, products, and performance in one place

🏆 Built for e-commerce: Shopify and Amazon integrations now, more coming soon

🏆 Secure by design: Passwords never stored, data connections encrypted

🏆 No extra cost: Included in your bookkeeping plan or trial

🏆 No spreadsheet chaos: Just clean, actionable insights

Need help setting it up? Schedule a demo today.

FAQs

What kind of data can an analytics tool track for an e-commerce business?

It can track orders, sales performance, inventory levels, product trends, and customer behavior— basically everything you need to understand what’s working and what’s not.

How often is my sales and inventory data updated in an analytics tool?

Most tools update in near real-time, with full syncing at least every 24 hours to ensure accuracy.

Can I integrate multiple e-commerce platforms into a single analytics dashboard?

Yes. Platforms like doola Analytics let you connect stores like Shopify and Amazon so you can see everything in one place.

Is my financial data secure when using an analytics tool?

Absolutely. Trusted tools use encrypted connections, don’t store your passwords, and only access the data needed to generate your reports.