Get a copy of our expense report template in Google Sheets here.
Select File > Make a copy.
Follow the steps below to create a Google Sheets expense tracker template.
First, click on the untitled spreadsheet title at the top and name it "Expense Tracker" or any title you prefer. Naming your sheet helps you to easily identify it later on. In the first row, enter the headings: Date, Description, Category, Amount, and Notes. These headings are crucial for organizing your expense information.
Highlight the first row. Then, use the toolbar options to make the text bold and adjust the alignment as needed, making your headings stand out clearly.
Under the 'Category' column, list down common expense categories like Food, Transport, and Utilities. These categories can later be made into a dropdown list for easy categorization.
Select the 'Category' column, then navigate to Data > Data Validation.
Choose "Drop-down" under the criteria and enter your categories. This will create a dropdown list for easy and consistent category selection.
Fill in the rows below your headings with some sample expenses. Be sure to include a date, a brief description, select a category from the dropdown, enter the amount spent, and any additional notes if necessary.
At the bottom of the 'Amount' column, use the SUM function to get a total of your expenses. Type '=SUM(' and then select the range of cells above that contain your amounts. Close the parenthesis and press Enter.
Select the cells with your data, then use the toolbar to format them. Dates should be formatted to date format, and amounts to currency format.
This step ensures your data is clear and correctly displayed.
To organize your expenses by month, you can duplicate your current sheet for each new month. Right-click on the tab at the bottom, choose 'Duplicate', then rename it to the current month. Repeat this process for each month.
Feel free to customize your expense tracker. You might want to add new categories, include charts for a visual summary of your spending, or link sheets for an annual overview. Tailor it to fit your personal or household financial tracking needs.
We hope that you now have a better understanding of how to create a Google Sheets expense tracker template and use our expense report template in Google Sheets. If you enjoyed this article, you might also like our article on how to create an invoice template in Google Sheets or our article on setting up a Google Sheets schedule template.
