Free expense tracker spreadsheet

What is in the template?

Five sheets: a quick-start guide, a transactions log, a 12-month summary, a category summary and an editable category list. You only ever type on the transactions sheet; everything else is calculated from it with SUMIFS formulas, so there is nothing to copy between tabs.

• Transactions: Date, Type (Income/Expense), Category, Description, Amount, with dropdowns for Type and Category to prevent typos.
• Monthly summary: income, expenses, money left and savings rate for each month of the year you choose.
• Category summary: each expense category’s total for the year and its share of all spending.
• Categories: rename, add or delete categories; the dropdowns follow automatically.

How do I use the expense tracker spreadsheet?

Download the file, open it in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers or LibreOffice, adjust the category list, then log each transaction with its date and a positive amount. The summary sheets fill themselves in. Set the year on the monthly summary and review it once a month.

1. Download the file and open it in your spreadsheet app (in Google Sheets: File → Import, or upload to Drive and open).
2. On Categories, delete what you do not use and add what is missing.
3. On Transactions, enter each income and expense. Amounts are always positive; the Type column decides whether it is income or spending. Delete the sample rows when you are ready.
4. Check Monthly summary and Category summary to see where the money went.
5. At the end of each month, note your biggest category and set a limit for next month.

How do the formulas work?

Monthly totals use SUMIFS: they add the Amount column for rows whose Type is “Expense” (or “Income”) and whose date falls inside that month. Category totals filter the same way by category name. Savings rate is money left divided by income. Spreadsheet apps translate function names automatically, so the file also works with non-English settings.

What if I stop filling it in?

Most people do after a few weeks, because opening a file after every purchase is a chore. If that happens, switch the input method rather than giving up on tracking. Logging by message takes seconds, at the moment you spend, and you can still export to a spreadsheet later.

spending.chat lets you text “groceries 62” in WhatsApp; the AI logs and categorizes it, and on the Pro plan the web panel exports everything to Excel.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make an expense tracker spreadsheet?

Create a log with Date, Type, Category, Description and Amount columns, then use SUMIFS formulas to total each month and category. This template has all of that set up already.

Does it work in Google Sheets?

Yes. Upload the file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets; the formulas and dropdowns work there too.

Is the template really free?

Yes. No email or account is needed, and you can change it however you like for personal use.

Can I use it for a small business?

It is designed for personal and household budgets. It can log simple business expenses, but it is not accounting software and does not handle tax reporting.