Free Budget Spreadsheet Templates

What Is a Business Budget Spreadsheet?

A business budget spreadsheet in an Excel spreadsheet designed to record expenses. It includes details about when the expense was done, by whom, what was purchased for the money, the remaining balance, and many others. 

It may also include the purpose of the expense (e.g., salaries, materials, distribution, etc.) and the beneficiary department (e.g., HR, IT, marketing, etc.). In short, a business budget spreadsheet is a customized template that suits a particular budget, such as a company's monthly expenses, a project's budget, or a household budget.

Why Are Budget Spreadsheets Important?

Budget spreadsheets are important because they help you with financial management. You can easily keep track of income, expense, and type of expense and understand where your money comes from and goes. When you have a clear perspective of your budget, you can make better financial decisions, avoid the risk of running out of money, and create accurate accounting reports. 

Furthermore, you can show financial data to anyone at any moment, explaining how the budget was spent. Not only do you avoid fraud and mistakes, but in the long term, you save money.

Standard Features of a Budget Spreadsheet

A budget spreadsheet is usually customized for a particular purpose or business type. However, most budget spreadsheets have a few standard features, such as:

• Expense Category: If you put all your expenses in one bucket, you'll soon end up with a long list that is impossible to navigate and comprehend. Furthermore, categories help you analyze how you spend your money.
• Expense Date: When you spend the money is also crucial for an accurate financial analysis. It shows your expense pattern and allows you to focus on periods when you spend the most (e.g., end of the month, etc.).
• Expense Amount: You need to know how much you spent on a particular item or service. It's also helpful to compute sums, averages, and statistics.
• Expense Owner: Most budget spreadsheets reference the person who made the purchase (or approved it) or the team or department that benefited from it. It's a simple way to know where most of your budget goes (e.g., marketing, HR, etc.) and plan your future budgets accordingly.
• Expense Description: Excel budget spreadsheets can hold as much information as you need. It's useful to include a description of your expenses to remind you why they were necessary, how many products or services you purchased, and what you received for your money.
• Income Category: Similar to expenses, incomes may come from multiple sources. It pays to monitor your primary income sources and prioritize activities that keep them going.
• Income Date: When you have a new flow of money coming in, it influences your planning and expense calendar.
• Income Amount: A budget spreadsheet should allow you to quickly compute how much money goes in and out without opening any other file or email.
• Income Description: While you don't have to write paragraphs, a short description or a marker showing where the money comes from helps you analyze large volumes of data and create statistics.

Top Reasons to Use Budget Spreadsheets

To summarize, here are the top reasons to use Excel spreadsheets to manage your business, project, or personal expenses:

• Accurate expense tracking over time
• Valuable financial insights, safely stored in a single place
• No risk of overspending or losing money
• Easy to compute metrics, statistics, and analysis
• Better future budget planning and financial decisions
• Better perspective over economic patterns, unusual expenses, and fraud issues
• Less time spent on budget management

Main Types of Budget Spreadsheet Templates

Budget spreadsheet templates are a good starting point. You don't have to do everything from scratch. You can count on professionals' experience and start from a template. However, ensure you personalize it for your current needs. Not all budgets are the same. Check out the following types of budget spreadsheet templates and choose the one that fits the most.

Business Budget Spreadsheet Template

A business budget spreadsheet is a complete view of your company's budget. It includes incomes and expenses organized in categories. You should be able to sort them by date, department, category, task, and employee in no time.

Expenses are analyzed in detail. The spreadsheet shows how many items or services were purchased, at what price, and when. Then, you can easily spot patterns and trends and act before it's too late. Of course, you can and should personalize the spreadsheet by adding valuable information, such as VAT, currency exchange, taxes, and anything else that affects your budget.

Business Budget Spreadsheet Template

Department Budget Spreadsheet Template

A department budget consists mainly of a given amount of money that needs to cover expenses. So, the department budget spreadsheet is a thorough list of expenses that answer the four key questions: who made the purchase, when the items or services bought were, how much they cost, and what was received for the money. Include expense categories so that you can have a better perspective of your department's budget and know how to plan your money.

Department Budget Spreadsheet Template

Project Budget Spreadsheet Template

A project budget requires a budget division by task and subtask. The project manager needs to know how much each task costs and whether it is within budget or overdrawn. Therefore, the project budget spreadsheet focuses on tasks and related expenses. 

Similar to any budget spreadsheet, this one also uses expense categories and as many details about a purchase as possible (e.g., items, labor, services, etc.). It also includes totals and sums that help the manager have an informed opinion about the status of the project and the current level of expenses.

Project Budget Spreadsheet Template

Monthly Budget Spreadsheet Template

A monthly budget can easily be found in every company, large or small, household, and even personal agenda. How much do you spend in a month? What is your monthly income, and where does the money come from? With these questions in mind, creating a monthly budget spreadsheet is easy. Include income and expense categories, dates, amounts, and helpful descriptions. If you have a target budget, compare the current expense amount with the target. A small delay in income shouldn't destabilize your monthly budget.

Monthly Budget Spreadsheet Template

FAQs

How do I create a spreadsheet for my business expenses?

Choose the program you are familiar with: Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Open Office. List the data you need to store and the dependencies between them. Then, create a table with enough columns and rows to accommodate all data categories. Use sorting functions to keep things organized by date, type, department, or other parameters. If you feel it's too much, find a business budget spreadsheet template that covers all or most of your requirements and customize it.

How to create an expense sheet in Excel?

You can create a new blank spreadsheet and write expense categories as column headings. As subheadings, write date, amount, person, and purpose. Each time you make a purchase, add it as a row, filling in the correct category.

How to create an expense sheet in Google Sheets?

Google Sheets is an online app, so you'll need a computer with an updated browser and internet connection. Start with a blank spreadsheet or choose a dedicated report, such as an Expense Report. After you have the expense table ready, fill it with your data. The good news about Google Sheets is that you can instantly share your expense sheet with colleagues, business partners, or family members.