How to track business expenses in Google Sheets

By Sergio, accountant and founder of BizCells · Updated November 7, 2026

The simplest way to track business expenses in Google Sheets is one tab where every expense is a row, with a date, a category from a dropdown and an amount, plus a summary tab that totals each category by month with SUMIFS. Set it up once and keeping it current takes about ten minutes a week.

Step 1: Set up the expense log

Create a tab called Expenses and freeze the first row (View > Freeze > 1 row). Use these columns:

One expense per row, oldest at the top. Don't leave blank rows in the middle: they make filters and sorting harder.

Step 2: Choose your categories

Ten to fifteen categories is enough for most small businesses. Fewer and you learn nothing; more and you spend time deciding where things go. A good starting list:

• Rent and utilities
• Software and subscriptions
• Equipment
• Marketing and advertising
• Contractors and freelancers
• Materials and stock
• Travel
• Meals and entertainment
• Insurance
• Professional fees (accountant, legal)
• Bank and payment fees
• Training
• Other

Put the list in a separate tab called Categories. Then select column C in Expenses, go to Data > Data validation > Dropdown (from a range) and point it at that list. If your country's tax return groups expenses in a certain way, mirror those groups: year-end becomes much easier.

Step 3: Build the monthly summary

Create a tab called Summary. Put the categories down column A (from row 2) and the first day of each month across row 1 (Jan 1, Feb 1…). In B2, use:

=SUMIFS(Expenses!$F:$F,
        Expenses!$C:$C, $A2,
        Expenses!$A:$A, ">="&B$1,
        Expenses!$A:$A, "<="&EOMONTH(B$1, 0))

Drag it across and down. You now have a grid of spending by category and month. Add a total row with =SUM(B2:B14) and a total column for the year.

Two quick upgrades:

• Share of spending: next to the yearly total, =N2/$N$15 formatted as a percentage shows where most of the money goes.
• Color scale: select the monthly grid and use Format > Conditional formatting > Color scale. Months where a category jumps stand out at a glance.

If you also track income, the same approach gives you a profit and loss statement.

Step 4: A ten-minute weekly routine

1. Open your bank and card statements for the last seven days.
2. Add every business expense as a row. Upload the receipt to a Drive folder and paste the link.
3. Check that the Summary total for the month roughly matches what left the bank.

Weekly beats monthly: you still remember what each payment was, and receipts haven't gone missing yet.

Common mistakes

• Mixing personal and business spending. If a payment is half personal, only record the business part, and keep a note of why.
• Recording the same expense twice, once from the receipt and once from the bank. Pick the bank statement as your source and attach receipts to it.
• Free-typed categories. “Software” and “software ” are two categories to SUMIFS.
• Logging loan repayments or money you take out for yourself as expenses. They reduce your cash, not your profit.
• Losing receipts. Photograph paper receipts the day you get them.

FAQ

Is Google Sheets good enough to track business expenses?

For freelancers and small businesses with up to a few hundred transactions a month, yes. You start to need accounting software when you have many bank accounts to reconcile, payroll, or stock to manage.

Can I import my bank transactions?

Most banks let you download a CSV. Use File > Import, paste the rows into the Expenses tab and add the category to each one.

How long should I keep receipts?

It depends on your country. Many tax authorities require several years. Check with your accountant or tax office.

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