In this guide, I’ll give you three examples of an expense report template for Excel under different categories:
Read on for a detailed guide on how to use each expense tracker.
Table of Contents
What Is an Expense Report Template for Excel?
An Excel expense report template is a pre-made spreadsheet that can be used by businesses and individuals to record and track their expenses.
Excel expense tracker templates are customizable, meaning you can change them based on your needs and requirements. You can add or remove rows and columns, adjust formatting, and include formulas to automate some of the calculations.
Using expense report forms can help you maintain an organized record of your business expenditures, which is crucial for tax purposes, budgeting, and financial planning.
Related: Get a Free Business Expenses Spreadsheet
Benefits of Using an Excel Expense Template
Using an expense tracking template in Excel has been a game-changer for managing my business finances. Here are some of the benefits I experienced:
Easy Expense Tracking
Using an expense tracking Excel template has simplified my expense tracking process. It lets me have an organized format to add all my financial transitions. This has eliminated the need for old-school manual records, making it a hassle-free experience.
Tailored Categories
When I create an expense Excel template, I can add a category section by using a dropdown button. This makes filtering data easier, as I can use a formula and search for rows containing “Rent” or “Groceries.” Removing or adding categories in a separate list also allows me to update the template in real-time, keeping the data accurate.
Automatic Calculation
Excel allows users to use functions and formulas to automate calculations. By using formulas, I don’t have to worry about manually updating the totals in my spreadsheet. Using simple formulas also allows me to perform calculations with changing values. For example, I can add the gas price in a cell and use it to calculate fuel prices based on the updated rates.
Effective Management
Budget management has become more accessible using a free expense report template, Excel. I can set a budget limit, monitor my spending, and see how much money I have left. Using conditional formatting, I can add rules to my budget to show a specific color based on how much funding I have used. For example, I can set it so my budget stays green when it’s less than 75%, becomes yellow between 76% and 90%, and goes to red above 90%.
Creating Charts
Excel’s graphs are one of the best features to use if you’re looking for visual insights. Making a chart allows me to visually represent my spending patterns. I tend to use bar graphs and pie charts to help me quickly identify my spending habits.
Simplified Tax Preparation
Using Excel expense report templates can be great for simplifying the process of consolidating deductible expenses into a single spreadsheet. This ensures that I always have an organized record of tax deductions, which helps save time and reduces the stress of the tax season.
Excel expense trackers are a valuable tool for businesses and individuals to manage their finances effectively. Using an expense template has become a daily part of my financial toolkit.
It streamlines the process of finance tracking, offers customization, real-time insights, automated calculations, budget management, charts, and graphs, and helps prepare you for tax season.
Related: Free Trucking Expenses Spreadsheet Template
What Should I Include in a Good Expense Report Template?
Although you can customize an expense report template according to your needs and preferences, let’s take a look at some essential elements I can add to an expense report template:
Headers
When creating templates for personal use, I don’t tend to add a lot of headers unless I need to add information for future reference. However, when creating templates for business use, I generally add cells for the company’s name, the expense report’s title, the date, or the reporting period.
Details
Some of the details you should look to have in your expense template include the date of the expense, description or name, category, amount spent, and payment method.
Expense Categories
I like to divide my expenses into categories for easier sorting. You should look to create a separate column with a dropdown menu using Excel’s Data Validation feature. This way, you can have preset categories which you can add with a click.
Budget Tracking
Although this isn’t entirely needed in an expense tracker, having a budget tracker is certainly nice. I also like to create a cell for the money I have left, which uses a simple formula to check how much I have spent.
These are some of the things I like to add to the expense tracker template I make. However, feel free to add more elements to your expense tracker template based on your needs.
Related: How to Create a Budget Spreadsheet
Best Excel Expense Report Templates for 2024
Here are some expense report examples you can use in Microsoft Excel. To use the template, simply download it and open it using Excel. Feel free to make any changes and delete the previously added data to start from scratch.
If you like the following templates, you should also check out our premium templates library, where you can use the code “SSP” to save 50% off all SpreadsheetPoint templates.
Simple Expense Tracker
I created this expense tracker template to be as simple as possible for the user, as not everyone is looking for a template that allows them to micromanage their expenses.
This is a simple, hassle-free way to monitor your budget and expenses. The template was designed with both mobile and PC users in mind. This expense tracker features two distinct sections.
The first section records your expenses. Here, you can add a Name for the expense, choose its Category from a drop-down menu, and enter an Amount and the Date. You can also add optional Notes to describe the expense.
The second section allows you to add your Budget and Categories to the selected expenses in the first section. The top ribbon shows the Total Spent, your Budget, and the Money Left. The Total Spent is calculated automatically using a formula that sums the values in Amount. Add your Budget in the cell, which will then show the Money Left using a formula that subtracts the value in Total Spent from the Budget value.
Finally, you can add the Categories, shown in the Category section, by clicking on an arrow showing a drop-down menu.
Business Expense Tracker
I made this free Excel expense report template for people looking to track their business expenses. The template features a simple, intuitive design, which should make this template easy to use, even for the basic user.
The template consists of three sections. The first one allows you to add some basic information about the report. This includes the Company Name, ID, Employee Name, Department, Purpose, and the From and To dates.
The next section allows you to add information about the expenses. This includes the Date, Description, Transport Costs, Fuel, Meals, Lodging, and Other expenses. Finally, the third column adds the Total for the specific day. A row towards the bottom of the table also shows individual totals for Transport, Fuel, Meals, Lodging, and Other expenses.
Additionally, two cells allow you to add the Date and the signature of the person by whom the payment was Authorised By.
Related: Google Sheets Expense Tracker
Travel Expense Tracker
This is the perfect template for anyone looking for an expense tracker template for travel. The template has two sections. The first section allows you to add details like your Name, Position, Department, Manager, Purpose, Start Date, End Date, and Mileage Rate. The total costs of the expenses are color-coded for easier viewing.
The next section allows you to add the Expense name, Date, and Account. You can also add the expense amounts directly in the Hotel, Meals, and Other sections. To calculate the Mileage, write the starting and ending reading. It will be automatically calculated based on the Mileage Rate.
Finally, the grand total of the expenses can be found towards the top right part of the template under Expense Report Total.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully, you now have the perfect expense report template for Excel to cater to your needs. If not, remember you can edit templates to suit your specific purposes.
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