A study that doesn't go unnoticed

42% of Excel users believe Excel does not meet their organization's scheduling needs. Source: BearingPoint study.

Nearly half of those using Excel for scheduling find it inadequate. In an FMG, the problems are amplified because the complexity is higher than a sales team or a restaurant.

The 5 Excel problems in an FMG

1. No automatic optimization

A typical FMG manages 30 physicians, 50 slots per week, 12 constraints per physician. The number of possible combinations exceeds manual calculation capacity. Excel forces you into "good enough", which generates conflicts and unfairness.

2. Fragile to errors

A mis-pasted cell, a broken formula, a forgotten filter, and the whole schedule is wrong. Errors get caught when a physician shows up and realizes they're supposed to be in two offices at once.

3. Knowledge silo

Every FMG we interview has the same problem: "The master Excel file, only the manager can edit it. If she's sick, we improvise." A tool essential to the FMG's survival should not depend on one person.

4. No calculated fairness

"Everyone has 5 on-calls" isn't enough. A Friday evening on-call is worth more than a Wednesday morning one. Excel doesn't weight. Fairness arguments are endless because they lack numbers.

5. No decision trail

When a physician says "you promised me Wednesday off", you have no record. Excel has no log, no structured comments, no reliable version history.

The ROI calculation of a switch

Excel's hidden cost: average FMG scenario (30 users)

• Manager time on planning: 20 h/week × 4 weeks = 80 h/month.
• Loaded hourly cost: ~$30/h (salary + benefits).
• Monthly cost of planning time lost: $2,400/month, or $28,800/year.
• Cost of scheduling errors (fix time, frustrated physicians, rescheduled appointments): conservatively $5,000/year.

Conservative total: $33,800/year in hidden costs.

Cost of a dedicated tool: Synchro

• Subscription: $10 × 30 users = $300/month = $3,600/year.
• Manager time: 6 h/week = 24 h/month = $720/month loaded.
• Total: $1,020/month = $12,240/year.

Net gain

$28,800 − $12,240 = ~$16,560 of productivity recovered per year. Plus the manager's peace of mind: she can finally take vacation.

The right moment to switch

The FMGs we work with switched from Excel in one of these situations:

• The manager threatened to resign (and nobody understood her file).
• The FMG grew (new physician, new site) and Excel broke.
• A team conflict erupted over fairness and numbers were needed to prove it.
• The manager went on vacation and the FMG was paralyzed.

What to look for in the replacement

• Smart automatic assignment (not just a shared calendar).
• Shared-office assignment (problem ignored by U.S. and generic tools).
• Quebec French interface.
• Baseline security (encryption, logging, backups).
• Transparent pricing: if you have to negotiate to learn the price, walk away.
• No-commitment trial.

Conclusion

Excel isn't bad, it's simply obsolete for the complexity of a 2026 FMG. The switch to a dedicated tool is no longer a luxury; it's an operational imperative.

Further reading

• Synchro vs Excel detailed comparison
• Synchro pricing
• FMG scheduling software