Evaud vs spreadsheets for Cyber Essentials evidence
Spreadsheets are a great way to start tracking Cyber Essentials evidence, but they break down quickly as your library grows.
Where spreadsheets work well
Spreadsheets are familiar, free and good for an initial list of controls or assets. Many SMEs start here and that's totally reasonable.
Where spreadsheets become messy
Spreadsheets don't hold your actual evidence — the screenshots and documents live somewhere else. There's no clear status per item, no expiry reminders, and sharing with an assessor means sending a snapshot that's already out of date.
How Evaud improves the workflow
Evidence lives with the row
Each control item carries the actual documents and screenshots, not just a row label.
Status and reminders
Know what's approved, what's expiring and what's missing — without manually checking.
Real assessor handover
Share approved evidence read-only, with comments on the item itself.
Evaud vs Spreadsheets
A side-by-side look at the Cyber Essentials workflow.
| Capability | Evaud | Spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|
Map evidence to Cyber Essentials controls Tag items against the five controls. | ||
Asset register linked to evidence Spreadsheets can store a list, but not link it to evidence. | ||
Evidence status (draft / approved / expired) | ||
Review reminders and expiry dates | ||
Read-only assessor access Spreadsheets sharing is broad and hard to scope to ‘approved only’. | ||
Comments tied to a specific evidence item | ||
Activity history per item | ||
Renewal preparation workflow |
Spreadsheets remain useful for ad-hoc lists. Evaud is not a replacement for spreadsheets in general — it's a better home for the Cyber Essentials evidence workflow specifically.
Start building your Cyber Essentials evidence today.
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