
On this page you will find a variety of budget and expense tracker templates for Google Sheets. Each of the templates here functions differently so that you will be able to find exactly what you need to track your expenses and your budget. Whether you want to track on a monthly basis, or a yearly basis, you'll find the template that suits your needs.
At the bottom of this page you will find expense tracker templates that allow you to break down your expenses by category. These trackers have additional charts that help you visualize your totals for each month, and overall.
By choosing from the templates that are explained below, you will be able to choose from the following options:
- 1 Month vs. 1 Year
- Expenses vs. Expenses + Budgeting
- Budget per month vs. Budget per expense (For budgeting types)
- Single sheet vs. One tab for each month (For 1-Year templates)
- *New: You can now choose a version that allows category selection
Every template/tracker comes with a graph that will visually display your expenses! You'll be able to see totals for each different expense type, for each different month, and you'll also be able to see your total overall.
Here is a full list of the budget and expense templates that are described in detail below:
- 1-Month Expense Tracker
- 1-Month Expense AND Budget Tracker (Monthly budget)
- 1-Month Expense AND Budget Tracker (Budget for each expense)
- 1-Year Expense Tracker
- 1-Year Expense AND Budget Tracker (Monthly budget)
- 1-Year Expense AND Budget Tracker (Budget for each expense)
- 1-Year Expense Tracker (1 tab per month)
- Single sheet (1 Month) Expense Tracker with Category Selection
- 1-Year Expense Tracker with Category Selection (1 tab per month)
See further below for images and a description of each expense / budget tracker template. But first let's go over how to make your own copy, and how to use the templates in general. Each different template has its own set of simple instructions that is shown on this page near the links and images for each different template.
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How to make a copy of the templates
The links to these templates should allow you to click a button that will automatically make your own copy for you, especially if you are using a desktop/laptop computer. You must be logged into Google for this to work.
The normal way of making a copy of a Google spreadsheet, is by clicking "File" on the top toolbar, and then clicking "Make a copy".
The sheets are "View Only", and you MUST MAKE YOUR OWN COPY to use them, so DO NOT request edit access.
How to use the budget / expense templates
Cells that should not be edited will display a warning if you try to edit them.
Below in each section are instructions for each individual template, but here are general instructions that are relevant to all of the templates:
The only cells that should be edited are the light blue cells, and the cells below the frozen rows where you can enter your expenses, the dollar amounts, and the budget.
- Enter your monthly income
- Enter your expense types/titles
- Enter how much you spent on each expense
- Enter your budget (when relevant)
Automatic color coding
The spreadsheet templates for expense tracking have some automatic color coding features that are good to note.
- When your expenses exceed your budget, you will see cells turn orange.
- When your total monthly budget exceeds your monthly income, you will see cells turn red
- When your total expenses exceed your income, you will see cells turn red
1-Month / Single Sheet Expense and Budget Templates
First I will show you the templates that allow you to track expenses and your budget for a single month, or simply to track your expenses / budget on a single sheet.
Each of these single month / single sheet templates has one tab where you can track your expenses, set your budget, and view a bar chart all in the same place (See further below for an additional "Category Selection" version).
1-Month Expense Tracker
This first expense tracker is the most simple of all of them! It allows you to track your expenses for a single month.
Instructions:
- Enter your monthly income in cell B1
- Enter your expense types in column A, starting at row 5 (Cells A5, A6, A7, etc.)
- Enter the dollar amounts that you paid for each expense in column B

1-Month Expense AND Budget Tracker (Monthly budget)
This template will allow you to track you expenses, as well as your budget. In this version the budget is set for the entire month.
Instructions:
- Enter your monthly income in cell B1
- Enter your monthly budget in cell B2
- Enter your expense types in column A, starting at row 7 (Cells A7, A8, A9, etc.)
- Enter the dollar amounts that you paid for each expense in column B

1-Month Expense AND Budget Tracker (Budget for each expense)
This template will allow you to track both expenses and your budget as well. However in this version, you can budget for each expense.
Instructions:
- Enter your monthly income in cell B1
- Enter your expense types in column A, starting at row 5 (Cells A5, A6, A7, etc.)
- Enter your budget for each expense in column B
- Enter the dollar amounts that you paid for each expense in column C

1-Year Expense and Budget Templates
Below are the 1-Year versions of the expense and budget tracker templates, which allow you to track expenses / budget in for each month of the year. Some versions allow you to track the entire year on a single sheet, where others allow you to track the expenses / budget for each month in an individual tab. (See further below for an additional "Category Selection" version)
In the image below, you will see a preview of the main tab where you'll actually be able to track your expenses, but note that the "Single Sheet" 1-year templates also have an extra tab that contains the two charts shown below.
In the "Single Sheet" 1-year budget and expense templates, from the second tab you will be able to select a month of the year to display your individual expenses for that month on a bar chart, and you will also be able to view your total monthly expenses for the entire year on a line chart.
The versions that have one tab for each month are a little different, and are described in their own sections.
Example of graphs found in the yearly trackers:
These templates / this content was originally created and written by SpreadsheetClass.com

The charts that are show above which come with each of the 1-year templates… will help you see what types of things you spend more money on than others, and will also help you to see which months you spend the most/least in.
1-Year Expense Tracker
This template is the most simple out of the 1-year trackers! It will allow you to track your expenses for up to 12 months, on a single sheet.
Instructions:
- Enter your monthly income in cell A2
- Enter your expense types in column A, starting at row 9 (Cells A9, A10, A11, etc.)
- Enter the dollar amounts that you paid for each expense, in each month, starting at column B (January)

1-Year Expense AND Budget Tracker (Monthly budget)
In this template, you can track your expenses and your budget for up to one year on a single sheet, but this version will allow you to set a total monthly budget, for each month.
Instructions:
- Enter your monthly income in cell A2
- Enter your budget for each month in row 3, starting at column B (January)
- Enter your expense types in column A, starting at row 12 (Cells A12, A13, A14, etc.) Row 11 is already for "Savings"
- Enter the dollar amounts that you paid for each expense, in each month, starting at column B (January)

1-Year Expense AND Budget Tracker (Budget for each expense)
This template will allow you to track your expenses and budget for 1 year… and with this version you can budget for each expense.
Instructions:
- Enter your monthly income in cell A2
- Enter your expense types in column A, starting at row 10 (Cells A10, A11, A12, etc.) Row 9 is already set for "Savings"
- Enter your budget for each expense in column B, starting at row 9
- Enter the dollar amounts that you paid for each expense, in each month, starting at column C (January)

1-Year Expense Tracker (1 tab per month)
In this version, you can track your expenses for 1 year, where each month is tracked on an individual tab. (See further below for "Category Selection" version)
Each monthly tab has its own column chart that shows you the amount of each different expense type, and the main tab has a line chart showing your monthly totals. Or if you want, you can also use the same "Graph" tab that the other yearly trackers have.
On the main tab of the tracker ("Dashboard"), simply enter your expense types once, and they will appear on each individual monthly tab. You can also enter your monthly income for each month, on the main tab.
On the "Dashboard" tab, only edit light blue cells.
Instructions:
- Enter your monthly income for each month, in column D of the "Dashboard" tab, starting on row 4 (January)
- Enter your expense types in column A of the "Dashboard" tab, starting at row 4 (Cells A4, A5, A6, etc.)
- Enter the dollar amounts that you paid for each expense, in each month, on each individual monthly tab, in column B, starting on row 5
Example of "Dashboard" tab:

Example of "January" tab:

Category Selection Expense Trackers
Below are two new versions of the expense tracker templates, which allow you to select a category for each expense. There is a single sheet version, as well as a 1-year version with 1 tab for each month. In these templates, in addition to seeing totals / charts for each expense, you can also view totals / charts for each category.
There are also charts that show total expenses vs. money remaining. In the 1-year version, the "Dashboard" tab shows the overall totals, and the trend for the entire year.
Note that the tab in the single sheet version of the template is almost identical to the monthly tabs in the 1-year version. So the four images below apply to both versions of the category selection template.
Here is an example of what the tabs for tracking expenses / categories look like:

Like in the other templates, there are column charts that display totals for each expense:

But in these versions there are also column charts that show totals for each category:

You will also find a scorecard chart showing the total amount spent, as well as a stacked column chart that shows total money spent in red, vs. money remaining in green:

Note that cell B3 (Money after expenses) will turn red if the money spent exceeds the set monthly pay.
Single sheet (1-Month) Expense Tracker with Category Selection
In this version of the template, you can track your expenses, and categories for each expense, on a single sheet.
Instructions:
- Enter your monthly income in cell A3
- Enter your expense names in column A, starting at row 5 (Cells A5, A6, A7, etc.)
- Type a list of categories in column E, starting at row 5 (This will populate the drop-down menus in column B)
- Click the drop-down menus in column B to select the category for each expense
- Enter the dollar amounts that you paid for each expense, in column C, starting at row 5
1-Year Expense Tracker with Category Selection (1 tab per month)
This is my favorite expense tracking template! In this version you can track your monthly expenses and categories for each expense, on individual tabs (1 per month), and view the totals / trends for the entire year on the "Dashboard" tab.
In addition to containing the monthly tabs described / shown above, the template also contains the features described below, on the "Dashboard" tab.
Instructions:
- On the "Dashboard" tab, starting at cell A19, type a list of the categories that you want to use (These categories will populate the drop-down menus in column B of the individual monthly tabs)
- Enter your monthly income in cell A3, in each of the monthly tabs (January, February, etc.)
- Enter your expense names in column A, starting at row 5 (Do this in each of the monthly tabs)
- Click the drop-down menus in column B to select the category for each expense (Repeat for each of the monthly tabs)
- Enter the dollar amounts that you paid for each expense, in column C, starting at row 5 (Repeat this for each of the monthly tabs)
- Click on the "Dashboard" tab to view overall totals and trends for the year
Here is an an example of what the "Dashboard" tab looks like in the 1-year category selection expense template:
You can see that a scorecard chart displays the total for the entire year, the totals for each month as well as the entire year are listed on the left, and a line chart displays the trend of expenses for each month of the year. Below this you will see more totals / charts for "Categories".

On the "Dashboard" tab of the 1-year version, you will also be able to view total for each category, for the entire year, displayed in the cells on the left side of the sheet, as well as in a column chart on the right.

I hope that you enjoy these expense / budgeting templates!
Click here to get your Google Sheets cheat sheet
FAQs
Can Google Sheets be used to create a budget tracker? ›
Create and track your budget in Google Sheets. Adds tools to track your expenditures throughout the year. This free add-on allows you to use Google Sheets as a budgeting application. Setup categories/subcategories for income and expenses, then enter your transactions.
Where can I get free templates for Google Sheets? ›TheGoodocs - Free Google Doc Templates. A large number of Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Sheets templates to boost your business. A large number of Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Sheets templates to boost your business. Open and Edit thousands of flawless templates from professional designers.
Does Google have a expense tracker? ›Track your spending. Google Pay makes it easy to keep track of your spending by showing you where you've made purchases and when you made them.
How do I create an expense tracker with Google forms and sheets? ›...
Build The Google Forms Expense Tracker
- Open Google Forms.
- Select Blank to start a new form.
- Rename your form to something recognizable.
- Select the first box and change it to Short answer.
Google Sheets is a great tool to make a budget in because it's fully customizable and can be made to suit your exact financial needs.
Does Google have a free budget app? ›The budgeting app is also completely free and comes with a few more bells and whistles, including alerting you when you're over budget, if you've incurred ATM fees or have payments due.
Can you download more templates for Google Sheets? ›From the Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, or Sites home screen, at the top, select one of the featured templates. Click Template gallery to see additional templates. Note: If you can't find Template gallery, go to Display or hide Template gallery.
Can you download templates for Google Sheets? ›When you find a template you want to use, click on the Copy to Google Drive button and the add-on will save a copy of the template into the root folder of your Google Drive.
Where do I find templates for Google Sheets? ›On your computer, go to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Forms. At the top right , click Template Gallery. Click the template you want to use. A copy of the template opens.
How do I create an expense tracker? ›- Choose simple expense tracker software. ...
- Create your expense categories. ...
- Create your expense input sheet. ...
- Create your summary tab. ...
- Try Sheetgo's automated expense tracker template.
How do I keep track of bills in Google Sheets? ›
- Enter the month and year in the second row. ...
- Double-click the tab titled "Bill Tracker" and rename it with the current month and year. ...
- Gather all of your reoccuring bill information to completely fill out this tracker. ...
- Fill in each field based on your bill information.
- Locate and open the Google Sheets monthly budget template.
- Start with a clean slate.
- Customize a sample monthly budget.
- Make a copy of the sample budget and plan your spending.
- Track your expenses with the Google Sheets app.
Mint is the best overall expense tracker app because it's free, and you can monitor all of your accounts in one place. Set savings goals, keep tabs on your credit, and track investments.
How do I Total expenses in Google Sheets? ›How To Create Expenses Tracker in Google Sheets From Scratch For ...
How do businesses use Google Sheets? ›- Everyone Can Use Google Sheets.
- Create Budgets And Keep Track Of Expenses.
- Manage Projects.
- Create Schedules and Calendars.
- Create a Schedule.
- Create a Calendar.
- Prepare Employee Assignments.
- Employee Time Tracking.
Google Sheets Budget Template Tutorial: How to Create a ... - YouTube
What is the easiest budget app? ›- Personal Capital.
- Mint.
- YNAB (You Need A Budget)
- PocketGuard.
- Goodbudget.
- Stash.
- Honeydue.
- Digit.
- Best overall free app: Mint.
- Best app for beginners: Goodbudget.
- Best app for serious budgeters: You Need a Budget (YNAB)
- Best app for small business owners: QuickBooks Online.
- Best app for business expenses: Expensify.
- Mint, for just about everything.
- YNAB, for hands-on zero-based budgeting.
- Goodbudget, for hands-on envelope budgeting.
- EveryDollar, for simple zero-based budgeting.
- Personal Capital, for tracking wealth and spending.
- PocketGuard, for a simplified budgeting snapshot.
- Honeydue, for budgeting with a partner.
Sign up for a Google Workspace trial at no charge. Google Sheets is an online spreadsheet app that lets you create and format spreadsheets and work with other people.
How do I make Google sheets look good? ›
Make Your Google Sheets Look PRO in Under 10 Minutes! - YouTube
Is Google sheets free for business? ›Google sheets advantage: Collaboration and Transparency
Google Sheets is free, easy to learn, facilitates user accessibility and fosters transparency and collaboration among business team members, a characteristic of utmost importance in the workplace.
Thousands of free and premium templates to jump start your project. Download useful templates such as calendars, business cards, letters, cards, brochures, newsletters, resumes, and more. You can use any template you download as-is, or you can customise it to meet your needs.
How do I make a free Google Doc template? ›- Choose a Google Doc Template: Go to the Google Docs Template Gallery, choose a template and make changes to it, then save it.
- Create a Template Folder: In Google Drive, choose New > Folder. Name the folder TEMPLATES and select Create.
- Add Custom Template: Go to New > Google Docs. Open the template.
Google Docs is a free, web-based alternative to Microsoft Word. All you need is a Google account, an internet connection, and these tips and tricks.
How do I create a Google sheet template? ›Open the templates folder you created. Select New > Google Sheets to make an empty spreadsheet that will be used as the template file. If you select From a template, the Google Sheets Template Gallery displays. You cannot upload templates or create a blank template from the Template Gallery.
How do I make a Google spreadsheet pretty? ›- Select the Right Font for Readability. ...
- Include Sufficient White Space. ...
- Follow a Uniform Data Alignment Style. ...
- Use Contrasting Shades for Alternating Rows. ...
- Resize Gridlines to Increase Readability. ...
- Add Conditional Formatting.
You can go directly to Google Forms at forms.google.com or use the Menu button while you're in Google Docs, where you can select Docs, Sheets, Slides or Forms. When you click the "+" button to start your form, you are prompted to enter your first question and choose from a variety of answer options.
What is the easiest way to track expenses? ›- Check your account statements. ...
- Categorize your expenses. ...
- Use a budgeting or expense-tracking app. ...
- Explore other expense trackers. ...
- Identify room for change.
- Step 1: Open a Blank Workbook. ...
- Step 2: Set Up Your Income Tab. ...
- Step 3: Add Formulas to Automate. ...
- Step 4: Add Your Expenses. ...
- Step 5: Add More Sections. ...
- Step 6.0: The Final Balance. ...
- Step 6.1: Totaling Numbers from Other Sheets. ...
- Step 7: Insert a Graph (Optional)
How do I create an expense tracker in Excel? ›
Create an Expense Tracker in Excel in 14 Minutes - YouTube
How do you keep track of business expenses and income in Excel? ›If you want to track business expenses in Excel, you'll need to create a spreadsheet and fill in the appropriate information. The most important columns are likely to be “date,” “description,” “category,” and “amount.” You can also add additional columns if needed, like “vehicle number” for tracking car expenses.
How do you create a budget forecast? ›- Gather past and current data. ...
- Perform a preliminary analysis. ...
- Set a budget timeframe. ...
- Establish revenue expectations. ...
- Establish projected expenses. ...
- Create a contingency fund. ...
- Implement your budget.
- Calculate your monthly income. The first step when building a monthly budget is to determine how much money you make each month. ...
- Spend a month or two tracking your spending. ...
- Think about your financial priorities. ...
- Design your budget. ...
- Track your spending and refine your budget as needed.
- In Sheets, open a spreadsheet.
- In an empty cell, type =GOOGLEFINANCE.
- In parenthesis, add any of the following, separated by a comma: A ticker symbol in quotation marks. (Optional) The attribute you want to show, such as price, in quotation marks. ...
- Press Enter.
You'll see the amount you spent during the current month. Choose the “Set budget” option and enter the amount you're comfortable spending on your apps, music, movies, TV shows, and ebooks for a month. Then hit “Save.” Your budget can always be adjusted or removed altogether from this same screen.
How do I create a monthly expense in Google Sheets? ›How To Create Expenses Tracker in Google Sheets From Scratch For ...
Does Google sheet have templates? ›Save time with templates in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, or Sites. You can choose an existing template or create your own. Create eye-catching resumes, brochures, or newsletters instantly using Docs. Get an instant format for invoices, budgets, expense reports, or schedules in Sheets.
Does Google have a finance app? ›Does Google Finance Have an App? Google Finance does not have an app, and neither Android devices nor iPhones have a Google Finance app.
How do you categorize expenses in Google Sheets? ›- In this post:
- Add more rows at the bottom of the template.
- Go to the “Custom category 3” row of the expense.
- Highlight the cells you want to duplicate.
- Drag down using the blue handle.
- Rename the new categories anything you want.
What are the 3 types of budgets? ›
The three types of annual Government budgets based on estimates are Surplus Budget, Balanced Budget, and Deficit Budget.
What's the 50 30 20 budget rule? ›What is the 50/30/20 rule? The 50/30/20 rule is an easy budgeting method that can help you to manage your money effectively, simply and sustainably. The basic rule of thumb is to divide your monthly after-tax income into three spending categories: 50% for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings or paying off debt.
What is the 70 20 10 Rule money? ›How the 70/20/10 Budget Rule Works. Following the 70/20/10 rule of budgeting, you separate your take-home pay into three buckets based on a specific percentage. Seventy percent of your income will go to monthly bills and everyday spending, 20% goes to saving and investing and 10% goes to debt repayment or donation.
Does Google have Excel? ›Google Sheets is free, and it's bundled with Google Drive, Docs, and Slides to share files, documents, and presentations online. It includes almost all of the same spreadsheet functions—if you know how to use Excel, you'll feel at home in Google Sheets. You can download add-ons, create your own, and write custom code.
How do I sum a column in Google Sheets? ›- On your computer, open a spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
- Highlight the cells you want to calculate.
- In the bottom right, find Explore. . Next to Explore, you'll see "Sum: total."
- To see more calculations, click Sum. Average. Minimum. Maximum. Count. Count numbers.
- Best overall free app: Mint.
- Best app for beginners: Goodbudget.
- Best app for serious budgeters: You Need a Budget (YNAB)
- Best app for small business owners: QuickBooks Online.
- Best app for business expenses: Expensify.
- Everyone Can Use Google Sheets.
- Create Budgets And Keep Track Of Expenses.
- Manage Projects.
- Create Schedules and Calendars.
- Create a Schedule.
- Create a Calendar.
- Prepare Employee Assignments.
- Employee Time Tracking.