Is a Farm Record Keeping App Better Than Writing Records in a Notebook?

The notebook is not the enemy. Use a record form or a field notebook, and do not rely on memory. What matters is that the record exists, written on the day.

The real difference shows after you write. A notebook holds the facts, but it does not add them up, warn you or keep a photo. The number of records a farmer needs also grows as the farm sells more. So the right tool depends on your farm, not on what is new. For what to record in the first place, start with our guide to farm record keeping.

Key points

• A notebook works for one lot, family labor and a few inputs, if you write in it every day.
• A spreadsheet adds up for you, but it usually gets filled in at night, from memory.
• A farm record keeping app adds up labor, expenses and profit on its own, keeps photos and works offline.
• Switch at the start of a season, and carry over only the numbers you will compare.

Farm app vs notebook: how do they compare?

Here is a fair comparison of the three common ways to keep records, on the points that matter in the field.

Here is the trade. Paper needs no computer and costs little, but it limits what you can analyze unless you spend a lot of time. Software saves time because it does the math for you. Even so, you need basic computer skills and time to learn it.

When is writing farm records by hand good enough?

Writing farm records by hand still works well on many Filipino farms. Keep the notebook if all of these are true.

• You farm one lot, mostly with family labor.
• You buy inputs a few times a season and pay in cash.
• Someone reads the book every week, not only at harvest.
• At harvest, you already work out what each cavan cost you.

Signs you have outgrown the notebook

• You hire a crew paid by the day, and pay day takes an hour of adding.
• You plant two or more lots on different days, so their tasks no longer line up.
• Inputs come on credit, and you lose track of what you owe the store.
• You run the farm from town. Our guide to managing a farm remotely covers that.
• A lender or insurer asks for proof. See farm records for loans and insurance.

What does a farm record keeping app add?

Records that add up by themselves

In anee.io, each task on the board carries its lot, date, workers and materials. When you tick it done, the labor cost adds itself up, and on Solo Farmer the shed also takes the fertilizer out of stock. The labor report comes with the free plan, and Solo Farmer adds the expenses and profit reports. All of them build from those ticks, so you never type a cost twice.

That sum matters more than it looks. The average cost of producing palay in 2024 was PHP 59,695 per hectare, or PHP 14.52 per kilogram. Your own records show if your farm spends more or less than that, and on what.

Photos and video on the task

Quick Capture saves a photo, Quick Voice saves what you say as a note, and Quick Record takes a video. Each one lands with the season, so you find it later. Photos come with every plan, while video recording comes with Solo Farmer.

It works where the signal does not

Offline mode is on for every plan, the free one too. You tick tasks and write notes in the paddy, and the app keeps the changes on the phone until the signal returns. Our guide to a farm app without internet tells you what to test.

The plan comes to you each morning

At 6 AM each day, the day's plan goes to the team by email: what to do and on which lot. A notebook only reminds you if you open it. With Cash to prepare, you can also tap any day and see the wages, materials and stock to buy, so the money is ready before the work.

Nothing gets lost

Once your records sync, a wet bag or a lost phone does not take the season with it. Sign in on another phone and the season is there. Your own tags, such as Buyer or Lot 2, then find any task, note or photo in one tap.

How do I switch from a notebook to an app without losing old records?

Questions about farm record keeping apps