Expense Tracker — Free Excel Spreadsheet
Supplies, fuel, a replacement mop head, the insurance bill — small business spending leaks away in dribs and drabs until someone writes it down. This tracker is the writing-down: one row per purchase, quantity × unit cost calculated for you, and a summary sheet that totals every category — materials and supplies first — so you can see where the money actually goes.
Download — free, one click, no email gate
A real, working Excel file — formulas included, not a picture of a spreadsheet. Opens in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. One click, no account, no email gate.
File: expense-tracker.xlsx · Format: XLSX spreadsheet
What's inside
- Expenses sheet — date, category, item, supplier, quantity and unit cost; the amount column is a formula, so a mistyped total can't creep in
- Materials tracked as their own category — cleaning products, cloths, chemicals and consumables total separately from fuel, equipment and the rest
- Summary sheet — a SUMIF total for each of the eight categories plus the grand total, updated by formula as you type
- Fixed category list (with dropdown values in the file) so “supplies”, “materials” and “stuff” don't fragment into three piles
- 40 pre-formatted rows and a “How to use” sheet inside the file
A look at the columns
Expenses
| Date | Category | Item / description | Supplier | Qty | Unit cost | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 2026 | Materials & supplies | All-purpose cleaner, 5 L | Trade Counter | 2 | 9.50 | 19.00 |
| 5 Nov 2026 | Fuel & travel | Fuel for van | City Petrol | 1 | 52.30 | 52.30 |
| 8 Nov 2026 | Equipment | Spray bottles (pack of 6) | Trade Counter | 1 | 7.99 | 7.99 |
How to use it
- Download and save your own copy. Keep the original download untouched as your blank master.
- One row per purchase, ideally the day you buy — pick the category, name the item and supplier, then quantity and unit cost. The amount calculates itself.
- Use the category list as given. Consistent categories are what make the summary worth reading at month-end.
- Read the Summary sheet monthly. Eight category totals and the grand total, always current — that is the number to compare against what the jobs brought in (the job & invoice tracker keeps that side).
Usage licence
Free for your own business use — make as many documents as you like, send them to your clients, keep them for your records. FormShelf keeps the copyright in the underlying design; please don't resell the tool output as a template product or redistribute our files. If a fellow business owner could use this, link them to this page instead.
Pairs with
Job & Invoice Tracker (Excel)
Money in: invoices, payments received and who still owes you.
Cleaning Supplies Inventory Tracker
What you hold in stock and when to reorder — the companion to the materials spending logged here.
Invoice Generator
Make the invoice itself in the browser, free and sign-up-free.
Frequently asked questions
Do the formulas work in Google Sheets and LibreOffice?
Yes. The file uses plain, standard formulas (SUM, SUMIF) that calculate identically in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.
Can I change the categories?
You can — the categories are ordinary cell values with a dropdown list in the file, and the summary reads them with SUMIF, so a renamed category needs the same rename in the summary's category column. The eight provided cover most service businesses as they are.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. The tracker is a file on your own computer. FormShelf never sees what you type into it.
Is this an accounting system?
No — it is a disciplined spending log with honest totals, the thing most solo businesses actually need before accounting software earns its keep. It is not tax or accounting advice.