A better alternative to Excel for your risk register
Excel was never built for risk management. RiskNote gives you the ISO 31000 process in a tool your colleagues, board, and auditor can actually read, without losing the simplicity Excel promised in the first place.
Why Excel breaks down for risk registers
Everyone starts there. A table, a few columns for likelihood and consequence, maybe a conditionally formatted matrix. It works until it doesn't.
After three months, the risk register has bounced through five people's inboxes. Nobody knows which version is current. Formatting has broken. Comments reference rows that no longer exist. When the auditor asks for an audit trail on a specific risk, there isn't one.
No version control
“RiskRegister_final_v2_KIM.xlsx” is not version control. You can't tell who changed what or when, and you can't prove it to an auditor.
Formulas break when people edit
Someone pastes a row, breaks a reference, and suddenly your risk matrix is wrong. Nobody notices until it's too late.
No AI suggestions
You sit in front of the blank sheet alone. Brainstorming risks for a new domain takes hours, and you often miss industry-specific risks you've never seen before.
Reports are manual work
Every board meeting means two hours of formatting tables, screenshotting the matrix, and exporting PDFs. Every. Time.
Impossible to share with control
You want a colleague to comment, not overwrite your matrix. Excel only gives you “edit” or “read-only”. Role-based access isn't an option.
Excel vs RiskNote at a glance
| Excel | RiskNote | |
|---|---|---|
| Create first risk assessment | 2–4 hours (template build) | Under 3 minutes |
| Get 5 industry-relevant risk suggestions | Manual, requires domain expertise | AI-generated per analysis |
| Version history | Filename + OneDrive history | Built-in, per-risk audit trail |
| 5x5 risk matrix | Build your own with formulas | Built-in, live updating |
| Board-ready PDF export | Manual (~2h per report) | One click, includes AI labeling |
| Sharing with auditor/client | Email attachment | Link with role-based access |
| ISO 31000 alignment | You map it yourself | Built into the process |
| Price | “Free” (+ lost time) | From $3/month |
What you get instead
AI that understands your industry
Set industry, role, and company size. The AI suggests 5 relevant risks tailored to your context (healthcare, construction, IT security, consulting, or anything else).
A risk matrix that just works
5x5 probability × consequence, colour-coded by severity, updates live as you edit a risk. No conditional formatting to maintain.
Professional PDF reports
Download a report with matrix, register table, your branding, and GDPR-/EU AI Act-compliant AI labeling. Ready for board or auditor straight away.
Everything in English (and 10 other languages)
RiskNote is available in English, Swedish, and 9 others. The AI generates risks in your language, no translation work.
EU-hosted, GDPR compliant
Data stored in Stockholm on ISO 27001-certified infrastructure (Elastx). Your data is never used to train AI models. All EU consumer rights included.
Switch from Excel in under an hour
Already have a risk register in Excel? Start a free trial, create a new risk assessment, run the AI analysis as a starting point, then copy your existing risks in from Excel. Most users are done migrating in under 30 minutes.
Prefer to keep Excel as your working surface and use RiskNote just for reporting and visualisation? That works too, RiskNote can be your presentation layer while Excel stays your notepad.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import my existing Excel risk register into RiskNote?
Today you add risks manually (under 30 minutes for a typical register). CSV import is planned for V1.1 (May–June 2026). The AI analysis works as a quick starting point to catch risks you'd otherwise miss.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
Your data is never automatically deleted. When your subscription ends you move to the free plan where you can still read your risk assessments in read-only mode. Upgrade any time to resume editing.
How secure is RiskNote compared to a local Excel file?
Significantly more secure in practice. Excel files get emailed, saved to local drives, and shared via OneDrive without control. RiskNote runs on ISO 27001-certified infrastructure (Elastx) in Stockholm, with TLS, encryption at rest, OAuth login, and full GDPR compliance.
Does RiskNote follow a risk management standard?
Yes. RiskNote implements the ISO 31000 risk management process: identify → analyse → evaluate → treat → monitor. Our roadmap also maps to ISO 27001, NIS2, DORA, and GDPR risk assessment.
What does it cost?
Starter from $3/month, Pro from $12/month, Business from $29/month. All plans include a 7-day free trial with no credit card required, plus 14 days of EU right of withdrawal after first payment.
Can I use Excel and RiskNote side by side?
Yes. Many consultants use Excel as a personal working surface and RiskNote to present finished output to clients. RiskNote makes it easy to produce board-ready PDF reports from the risks you've landed.
Stop maintaining a broken spreadsheet
Try RiskNote free for 7 days. No credit card required. First risk assessment ready in under 3 minutes.