Budget spreadsheets fail for one reason: they’re designed like tax forms. Thirty columns, conditional formatting, a dashboard that takes an hour to feed. You abandon it by February.
This template is the opposite. Four data columns, a running balance column, one category list, three summary formulas. It takes five minutes to set up, it works identically in Excel and Google Sheets, and it’s the sheet this site’s SUMIF guide uses in every example.
A tracker on its own only shows where the money went. Whether a category stayed inside the limit you set for it is a separate question, and that is the one the budget planner template answers. Keep the category names in the two files identical and a category total from this tracker can be dropped straight into the planner’s Actual column.
What’s inside
The whole template is one tab. No input sheet, no summary sheet, no charts tab.
| Column | What goes in it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A (Date) | When it happened | 2026-08-24 |
| B (Category) | From the category list below | Groceries |
| C (Description) | One line, enough to recognize it | Weekly shop |
| D (Amount) | Negative = expense, positive = income | -48.20 |
That’s it. Four columns, nothing hidden, nothing computed while you type.
The category list
Keep it to eight or fewer. Every extra category is a decision you make per entry, and decisions are where trackers die.
- Housing
- Groceries
- Utilities
- Transport
- Dining out
- Subscriptions
- Health
- Income
If a purchase doesn’t fit, put it under the closest one. “Miscellaneous” is a black hole: don’t add it.
The three formulas that do the work
Paste these into a small summary block to the right of the data (say, H2:I4, leaving the Balance column free). They use SUMIF/SUMIFS, which work identically in Excel and Google Sheets. If one of them throws an error, our VLOOKUP error guide covers the usual suspects like range mismatches.
Total spent this month:
=SUMIFS(D:D, A:A, ">="&DATE(2026,8,1), A:A, "<"&DATE(2026,9,1), D:D, "<0")
Total income this month:
=SUMIFS(D:D, A:A, ">="&DATE(2026,8,1), A:A, "<"&DATE(2026,9,1), D:D, ">0")
Spending by category (put “Groceries” in H2, formula in I2):
=SUMIFS(D:D, B:B, H2, D:D, "<0")
Three formulas, not thirty. To see a category breakdown, type category names in H2:H9 and drag the formula down.
Balance after each entry (column G, already set up in the file): The starter file carries a Balance column that adds every amount from row 2 down to the current row:
=SUM($D$2:D2)
Expenses are entered as negative numbers and income as positive, so the column rises and falls with each line and the last filled cell always shows your current total. If the column arrives blank in your copy, paste =SUM($D$2:D2) into G2 and drag it down to the last data row.
How to set it up (5 minutes)
- Create a new spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets (if you’re deciding between the two, our Excel vs Google Sheets comparison covers which fits your situation).
- Type the headers in A1:D1: Date, Category, Description, Amount.
- Add a data validation dropdown on column B: select B2:B500, then open the Data menu and pick Data validation (Sheets) or Data Validation (Excel), and set the list to your eight categories. Now you click a category instead of typing it, which is the single biggest habit-saver in the template.
- Paste the three formulas into the summary block.
- Enter this week’s spending as a test run. If the totals move, the template works.
How to use it
- Enter once a day: three minutes, usually while making coffee. Daily beats weekly; weekly you forget the small purchases that add up to the real numbers.
- Don’t reconcile to the penny. If the credit card statement says $412.83 and the sheet says $410, you’re fine. The point is trends, not audit-grade accuracy.
- Review the category totals once a month (the first weekend works). Decide one category to cut, not five. One cut sticks; five don’t.
Why this template works
- Capture takes five seconds. A dropdown, a date, a number. If entry takes longer than the purchase did, you’ll stop.
- It answers one question: “Where did the money go?” The summary block answers it in one glance.
- It shrinks instead of growing. When the sheet feels heavy, you delete a category and never add a feature. That’s the same philosophy as our Notion task system guide, just for money.
The fine print
- The template is free and stays free. The file behind the download button above carries the headers, the Balance column and the eight categories already in place, and no account is needed for it. If you would rather build it yourself, the structure on this page is the whole thing.
- If you want spending to arrive in the sheet automatically instead of by hand, the Zapier + Notion workflows guide shows the same trigger-and-append pattern, and you can point it at any spreadsheet or database you prefer.
- The formulas are date-bound to August 2026 as written: when the month changes, update the two
DATE()values in the month formulas. Took you two seconds, right? That’s the whole point of boring.
For the other half of small business admin, our free invoice template for Google Sheets and Excel is built on the same idea: a simple structure you can actually keep updated.