Free Income & Expense Spreadsheet Starter
A simple, free way to see what your small business earned and spent each month. The Simple Small Business Income & Expense Starter is a single-sheet spreadsheet for Google Sheets & Microsoft Excel. Log each transaction once, and the monthly summary shows income, expenses and net for the year you choose. A check column flags bad dates, text amounts and rows from other years instead of quietly counting them. It's deliberately small, a good first step if you've been keeping records in a notebook or a bank app.
Excel workbook (.xlsx), 18 KB. Direct download, no sign-up. Opens in Excel 2016 or later; import into Google Sheets.
What's included
- Start Here tab with step-by-step setup notes
- Income & Expenses sheet: up to 200 transactions (date, description, Income/Expense, category, amount)
- 12 editable categories in dropdowns (up to 15)
- Monthly summary: income, expenses and net for each month, plus year totals
- Check column that flags bad or missing dates, text amounts, negative amounts, a missing type and other-year rows (flagged rows aren't counted until fixed), with a count of flagged rows
- Locked formula cells with no password, so you can unlock them anytime
- One .xlsx file that opens in Excel 2016 or later and imports into Google Sheets
What it doesn't do: invoices, unpaid income, mileage, pricing, dashboards by category, or any tax calculation. For those, see our templates.
How to get it
- Click Download the free starter (.xlsx).
- Excel: open the file and save it under your own name. Google Sheets: upload the file to your Drive and open it with Sheets (File → Import also works).
- Read the Start Here tab, delete the 3 sample rows, set the year in B2, and start logging.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free?
Yes. No payment is needed, and you can use it for personal or business records.
Does it work in Google Sheets and Excel?
Yes. It's a standard .xlsx file that opens in Excel 2016 or later and can be imported into Google Sheets. We recommend a computer for first-time setup.
Does it calculate taxes?
No. It totals what you enter by month. It's an organizing tool, not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice.
Can I share it?
You're welcome to share a link to this page. Please don't share or re-upload the file itself. See the license below.
How is this different from your paid templates?
The starter is one simple log with a monthly summary. Our paid templates add features like paid/unpaid income, invoice aging, mileage logs, category totals and annual dashboards. Browse them in the shop.
Can you see my data?
No. The file lives on your computer or in your own Drive.
License
Free Starter License. What you can do: Use this template free of charge to keep records for yourself, your household or your own business, and edit your copy however you like. What you can't do: Sell, resell, share, redistribute or re-upload the file itself (original or modified), or include it in any product, bundle, course, template collection or other offering, whether paid or free. Sharing: You're welcome to share a link to sheetsmithstudio.com/free/. No warranty: The template is provided "as is", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Limit of liability: To the extent permitted by law, Sheetsmith Studio is not liable for any losses arising from your use of the template. You're responsible for checking your results. Not advice: It's an organizing tool, not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice. © 2026 Sheetsmith Studio. Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are trademarks of their owners; Sheetsmith Studio is not affiliated with them.
Want more? Browse all templates in the shop.