A Simple Excel-Based Compliance Tool for Small Companies and Professionals

In today’s business world, compliance has become a very important part of running a company. Large listed and unlisted companies with high turnover usually use costly compliance software to keep track of their requirements. But small companies cannot afford such tools, and even many Practicing Company Secretaries who handle 150-200 companies at a time do not have a proper tracking system. In most cases, professionals depend on memory, rough notes or manual checking, which can easily lead to missed deadlines and penalties.

To solve this problem, I have created a small Excel-based compliance tool. It is simple, practical and especially useful for small companies, startups and professionals who want a low-cost way of managing compliances. The sheet asks for only a few basic details like paid-up capital, turnover, net worth, borrowings, deposits, net profit, CSR obligation, number of employees and number of shareholders. Once you fill these details, the sheet will automatically check the limits and show “Yes” or “No” for thirty-five different compliances. This way, without reading through long provisions every time, you can quickly know what is applicable to a company.

Let me give you an example.

One of the compliances is Secretarial Audit under section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013. This is required for all listed companies and also for public companies with paid-up share capital of fifty crore rupees or more, or turnover of two hundred and fifty crore rupees or more. If you enter such figures in the sheet, it will instantly show “Yes” for Secretarial Audit.

If your company does not meet the limit, it will show “No.”

Another example is CSR under section 135. If a company in the previous year had net worth of five hundred crore rupees or more, or turnover of one thousand crore rupees or more, or net profit of five crore rupees or more, CSR becomes applicable. So, if you simply enter net profit of six crore, even when the other limits are not reached, the sheet will reflect CSR as “Yes.”

The sheet also covers the requirement for appointment of a whole-time company secretary under section 203. Whenever a company has paid-up capital of ten crore rupees or more, this becomes compulsory. By putting this number in the sheet, you will immediately know the answer. Similarly, the internal audit requirement under section 138 has also been included. Based on the company’s turnover, borrowings or deposits, the tool will confirm whether internal audit is needed.

The main idea behind this sheet is to save effort and avoid confusion. In a single place you can check the applicability of thirty-five compliances including secretarial audit, CSR, auditor rotation, appointment of independent and woman directors, internal audit, rules on deposits and borrowings, cost audit, board and committee requirements, appointment of KMP and many others.

This tool has been prepared keeping in mind the needs of small and medium companies, startups and practicing professionals who do not have the budget for costly compliance tools but still want a reliable system. It is also easy to modify. If you want to add more compliances or change the limits, you can do so without much effort because the sheet is fully editable.

The biggest advantage is that it saves time and reduces the chances of missing a compliance. Instead of looking up each section again and again, you just fill in the company’s details once and the sheet gives you a clear snapshot of what applies. It is cost-effective, quick and very practical in day-to-day professional life.

I am happy to share this sheet with my professional friends and invite your feedback and suggestions to make it better. If you feel some compliance has been missed, you can add it to the sheet easily. The idea is to make compliance management simple for everyone. Compliance should not be seen as a burden but as a step towards good governance and long-term trust. With small efforts like this, I believe we can make compliance easier, faster and stress-free for all.