A Simple Expense Tracker in Google Sheets (With Formulas)

A spreadsheet is still the simplest way to see where your money goes. You don't need templates or add-ons: six columns and three formulas will answer "what did I spend this month?" and "what did I spend on software this year?"

Here is a layout you can build in ten minutes, with the formulas to copy.

Set up the expenses tab

Open a new Google Sheet and name the first tab Expenses. Put these headers in row 1:

Each purchase gets its own row. A few habits keep the data usable:

• Dates as real dates. Type 2026-10-03 and let Sheets recognize it. Text that only looks like a date won't sort or filter correctly.
• Amounts as plain numbers. Skip the currency symbol in the cell and use the number format instead.
• A link to the receipt. Paste the Drive link to the file, so every number has proof behind it. If you ever have to back up a deduction, this column saves an hour.

If you want more detail, add columns for tax, payment method or currency. Add them only when you'll actually use them.

Make categories a drop-down

Categories are where trackers get messy. One day it's "Software", the next it's "software subscriptions", and the totals split in two.

Fix that with a list:

1. Make a second tab called Lists and type your categories down column A, for example Software, Travel, Meals, Office, Equipment, Fees, Other.
2. On Expenses, select the Category column from C2 down.
3. Choose Data → Data validation, add a rule of type Drop-down (from a range), and point it at Lists!A2:A20.

Keep the list short. Eight to twelve categories is plenty. If you're a US sole proprietor, the expense lines on Schedule C are a sensible model, because that is where the totals end up anyway.

Formula 1: total for one month

The function to know is SUMIFS. Google's help page describes it as adding up values in one range only for rows that meet several conditions, where a row counts only if every condition is true.

Put a month start date in a cell on a new Summary tab, say A2 = 2026-10-01. Then:

=SUMIFS(Expenses!E:E, Expenses!A:A, ">="&A2, Expenses!A:A, "<"&EDATE(A2,1))

Read it left to right: add the Total column, but only where the Date is on or after the first of the month and before the first of the next month. EDATE(A2,1) returns the same day one month later.

Formula 2: total for one category

=SUMIFS(Expenses!E:E, Expenses!C:C, "Software")

Better, point to a cell instead of typing the word. If A5 holds "Software":

=SUMIFS(Expenses!E:E, Expenses!C:C, A5)

Now you can list every category down column A, copy the formula down, and see the year to date by category.

Formula 3: a month-by-category table

This one combines both conditions. Put the categories down column A (from A5) and month start dates across row 4 (B4, C4, and so on). In B5:

=SUMIFS(Expenses!$E:$E, Expenses!$C:$C, $A5, Expenses!$A:$A, ">="&B$4, Expenses!$A:$A, "<"&EDATE(B$4,1))

The $ signs lock the column or row, so you can copy the formula across and down the whole table. Add a total row with =SUM(B5:B14).

You now have the table most people pay an app for: what you spent on each thing, each month.

A check that catches mistakes

Add one cell that compares the grand total of the table with the total of the Expenses tab for the same period. If they differ, a row has a blank category, a misspelled one, or a date stored as text. Fix the row and the difference disappears.

The hard part is not the formulas

The formulas take ten minutes. Keeping the sheet current takes discipline, because every row means opening a receipt and typing it in. That is the step people drop after a few weeks.

Three ways to deal with it:

1. Batch it. Fifteen minutes on a fixed day each week, working from one folder of receipts. Our post on organizing receipts in Google Drive shows how to keep that folder in order.
2. Do it on the spot for cash or paper receipts, from your phone.
3. Let something else fill the rows. ExpenseCatcher reads receipts you forward by email, saves the file to Drive and adds a row to a Google Sheet, with columns like Date, Vendor, Category and Total plus a link to the file. The freelancers guide walks through that setup. The sheet is yours either way, and the formulas above work on it.

Whichever you choose, one rule holds: one row per expense, one link to its receipt.

What to do with the totals

Once a month, glance at the category table. Look for the category that grew, a subscription you forgot, or a spike you can explain. Once a year, the same table is the starting point for your tax prep. Your accountant, if you use one, will like a clean list with receipts attached.

A spreadsheet will not tell you what is deductible. That depends on your situation and your country's rules, so for that, see what you can write off as a business expense or ask an accountant.