What spreadsheets do well
Spreadsheets are flexible, finance teams can audit them, and everyone in the room can read them. The project-level business case — capex phasing, revenue build, operating costs, the NPV and IRR — belongs in a model your team owns. Capvium doesn't ask you to give that up.
Where the spreadsheet process breaks down
One base case per project
Each model carries a single set of assumptions, sometimes with a high and a low case. The committee sees a point estimate and treats it as the plan, even though cost, schedule and price are all ranges.
Projects evaluated one at a time
Each business case is built as if it lives alone. Two projects exposed to the same commodity price, the same vendor or the same specialist crews look independent in their own tabs — and the concentration only shows up when both go wrong in the same year.
Ranking, not sizing
A ranked list says which projects make the cut. It never says how much each one deserves, and staged or deferred commitments are hard to express in a single column of IRRs.
The downside arrives after the decision
The bad-year view, if it exists, is a separate exercise that rarely makes it into the paper the committee signs.
Side by side
| Question | Spreadsheet capex process | Capvium |
|---|---|---|
| How much to commit to each project | Whatever the business case asked for, funded down the ranking | A recommended commitment in dollars, sized for the portfolio it joins |
| Uncertainty | One base case, sometimes high and low cases | Ranges for cost, schedule and revenue, carried through to P50 / P80 / P90 outcomes |
| Risks the projects share | Rarely modeled | Made visible across the portfolio |
| The bad year | Discussed qualitatively, if at all | Stress-tested before signature |
| Staging and deferral | Hard to express in a ranking | Commit, stage, defer or re-size, priced side by side |
| Audit trail | File versions and email threads | Every run retained with its assumptions |
How they work together
Keep the models. Capvium takes project-level NPV, schedule and risk inputs from the spreadsheets and capex templates you already use, and turns the portfolio step — the part that currently happens in a ranking tab and a committee room — into a recommendation you can defend. When the assumptions change, the plan is re-sized rather than rebuilt.
Bring the spreadsheet you decide with today
Point Capvium at the capital plan you have to commit this quarter. We'll run it with you and show you what the ranking tab can't.
Book a demo →Frequently asked questions
Can't we do this in Excel with a Monte Carlo add-in?
You can simulate one project in Excel with an add-in. Doing it for a whole portfolio — with shared risks between projects, staged options and a recommended commitment for each project — is where spreadsheets become fragile and hard to audit. That portfolio step is what Capvium is for.
Do we have to rebuild our financial models?
No. Project-level NPV, schedule and risk inputs come from the models you already have. Capvium works on top of them.
Is a spreadsheet good enough for a small portfolio?
Sometimes. If you have a few projects that don't compete for capital or share risks, a well-built spreadsheet may be all you need. Capvium earns its place when several projects compete for a limited budget and the downside matters.