Do I really need an LMS, or are spreadsheets and Google Classroom enough?

For a few learners and informal training, spreadsheets or Google Classroom are fine. You've likely outgrown them when any of these become painful:

• Proof and compliance — you need audit-ready records that someone completed and passed training, with dates and certificates.
• Recurring training — staff must re-certify every year and you're tracking renewal dates by hand.
• Scale — onboarding new joiners every month, or training across multiple branches.
• Assessments — you need real quizzes with scoring, not a form.
• Reporting — a manager asks "who hasn't finished?" and it takes you an afternoon to answer.

If two or more of these sound familiar, an LMS pays for itself quickly in saved admin time and reduced compliance risk. If not, stay lean — the right time to switch is when manual tracking starts costing you more than the software would.