Paper files. Excel sheets. WhatsApp groups. It's time.
80% of African SMBs still manage HR with paper folders, spreadsheets, and chat messages. It works — until it doesn't. One lost file, one wrong formula, one forgotten message, and you're in trouble. There's a better way.
This is how most businesses do HR today
Paper Files
Contracts, IDs, certificates, emergency contacts
- Takes 20 minutes to find anything
- Gets damaged, lost, or destroyed
- Only accessible in the office — useless remotely
- No backup if there's a fire, flood, or theft
- Impossible to search across 50+ files
Excel / Google Sheets
Employee lists, leave balances, asset lists, attendance
- Multiple versions — nobody knows which is current
- Formulas break and nobody notices
- One wrong edit wipes out a column
- No access controls — anyone can change anything
- Doesn't scale past 20 people without becoming a nightmare
Leave requests, sick day notifications, policy questions, HR announcements
- Messages get buried in group chats
- No record of approvals — just a thumbs up emoji
- Personal details shared in groups — no privacy
- Scroll back 3 months to find who approved what? Good luck.
- When someone leaves the group, the history goes with them
Memory
Who's on probation, who's used their leave, who has the spare key
- Works until you're sick, on leave, or busy
- Doesn't transfer when someone new takes over HR
- Gets less reliable as the team grows
- No evidence in a dispute — just 'I think I remember'
- One person leaves and the knowledge is gone forever
When it breaks, it really breaks
The audit
An auditor asks for employment contracts for all staff. You need 3 days to dig through filing cabinets. Some contracts are missing entirely. The auditor flags non-compliance.
The labour dispute
A terminated employee claims they never received a warning letter. You know you gave them one — but there's no signed copy, no timestamp, no proof.
The wrong balance
Your Excel says someone has 5 leave days left. They say they have 8. The formula references a row that was deleted 4 months ago. Who's right? Nobody knows.
The lost laptop
Someone resigned last month. Now a laptop is missing. There's no record of who it was assigned to. It was tracked in a spreadsheet — that was last updated in January.
The emergency
An employee has an accident at work. You need their emergency contact. It's in their paper file. In the office. Which is locked. It's 9pm.
The handover
Your office manager who ran HR quits. All the knowledge — leave balances, asset assignments, policy decisions — was in their head. You're starting from zero.
What changes when you switch to Cedrios
Every person's details, documents, and history in one searchable profile. Access from your phone at 9pm if you need to.
Your people request leave in 30 seconds. You approve with one tap. Balances calculated automatically. No formulas to break.
Every request, approval, and rejection recorded with timestamps. Proof for any dispute, anytime.
Every asset assigned with digital acknowledgement. Auto return checklist on offboarding. Nothing disappears.
Every contract, ID, and certification stored per person. Auto-alerts before anything expires.
Every action logged. Every change tracked. When someone leaves, the knowledge stays.
The switch takes 5 minutes, not 5 weeks
Create your account
30 secondsName, email, company name. 30 seconds.
Import your people
2–5 minutesAlready have an Excel list? Upload it. Cedrios validates and imports everyone. Don't have one? Add people one by one — 60 seconds each.
Upload key documents
OngoingScan or photograph paper contracts and IDs. Upload to each person's profile. You can do this gradually — not everything at once.
Start using it
ImmediateNext leave request? Submit it in Cedrios instead of WhatsApp. Next new hire? Add them to Cedrios first. The paper pile shrinks naturally.
You don't have to digitise everything on day one. Start with profiles and leave. Add documents over time. Within a month, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it.
You don't need to be technical
No software to install
Cedrios works in your browser. Open it on your phone, tablet, or laptop. That's it.
No training required
If your team can use WhatsApp, they can use Cedrios. The interface is that simple.
No IT department needed
No servers, no databases, no updates to manage. We handle everything.
No internet? No problem.
Cedrios works on slow connections. Key features work offline and sync when you're back online.
Any phone works
Android or iPhone. New or old. Cedrios is built mobile-first for the devices your team actually uses.
What paper and spreadsheets are actually costing you
At $10/hr, that's $200–400/month in lost productivity
Untracked assets disappear. One lost laptop pays for a year of Cedrios.
Missing records, lapsed certifications, no audit trail.
No signed warnings, no documented process. You lose by default.
Your best people doing data entry instead of real work.
Cedrios costs $2/user/month. A team of 25 pays $50/month. You're already losing more than that.
Paper & Excel vs. Cedrios
Frequently asked questions
Your filing cabinet had a good run.
Free for up to 5 people. No credit card. No tech skills needed. Set up in 5 minutes.