Free Bookkeeping Templates for Excel |

Every small business owner knows the story: it’s late at night, your desk is cluttered with crumpled receipts, and you’re staring at a blank spreadsheet, wondering how to make sense of all the invoices and credit notes. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. 

Managing finances can be daunting, especially when hiring an accountant or buying expensive software that isn’t within the budget. 

That’s where free bookkeeping templates for Excel come to the rescue. 

Whether you’re tracking income and expenses, managing accounts receivable, or simply trying to get a clearer picture of cash flow, these bookkeeping templates can save time and boost productivity.

What Makes a Good Bookkeeping Template?

Here are the features that should be part of a good bookkeeping template:

• Error prevention: The template should include features to help prevent errors, such as automatic calculations and data validation
• Clarity and simplicity: The template should be easy to understand and use, even for those without accounting expertise
• Customization: It should be flexible enough to adapt to different business needs and accounting standards
• Organization: The bookkeeping template should be well-structured and organized, with clear sections for recording transactions
• Consistency: It should use consistent formatting and terminology to ensure accuracy and ease of use
• Versatility: To cater to various business types and sizes, the template should be versatile
• Integration: It should be compatible with accounting software and other business tools
• Visual appeal: A visually appealing template can make bookkeeping more enjoyable and efficient
• Data security: To protect sensitive financial information, the template should be designed with robust security measures
• Future-proofing: The template should be adaptable to changes in accounting standards and technology

Bookkeeping Excel Templates

Here’s a curated list of free Excel bookkeeping templates that can simplify your financial management and save you time:

1. The Bookkeeping Template by Template.net

The Bookkeeping Template by Template.net is designed to simplify financial record-keeping for individuals and businesses, making it easy to maintain accurate financial data. Key features include organized sections for tracking income, expenses, and transactions, providing a clear snapshot of financial health. 

It also has dedicated spaces for categorizing expenditures and recording payments, which help streamline monthly or yearly bookkeeping tasks. The template’s user-friendly layout allows for easy customization, making it adaptable to various business sizes and needs.

2. The Cash Flow Template by Template.net

This Cash Flow Statement Template by Template.net provides a streamlined approach to tracking a business’s inflow and outflow of funds. 

Clearly defined sections for operating, investing, and financing activities give users a comprehensive view of cash movement. This cash flow statement template helps you understand liquidity, plan financial decisions, and prepare for future expenses.

3. The Bookkeeping Spreadsheet by Template.net

Designed for accuracy and ease, the Bookkeeping Spreadsheet Template by Template.net lets you easily record and categorize daily financial transactions.

It is divided into user-friendly sections for income, expenses, and general ledger entries, enabling organized and accessible data. This free Excel bookkeeping template also does automated calculations to help users save time and minimize errors.

4. The Cash Book Template by Template.net

The Cash Book Template from Template.net is a practical tool for managing daily cash transactions in a structured format.

The features of this Excel bookkeeping template include sections for both cash receipts and payments, making it easy to accurately record cash flow in real time.

5. The Sample Balance Sheet Template by Template.net

This Sample Balance Sheet Template offers a clear framework for presenting a business’s financial position. It includes sections for assets, liabilities, and equity, making assessing a company’s net worth straightforward.

6. The Accounting Template by Receipt Bot

Receipt Bot’s Accounting Template is a versatile tool that simplifies core accounting tasks. It includes features for managing income, expenses, assets, and liabilities in one place.

The template’s automated formulas reduce manual effort, while its organized format makes financial data accessible.

7. The Accounts Receivable Template by Financial Cents

The free Accounts Receivable Template by Financial Cents is a helpful tool for businesses managing customer invoices and payments.

It provides columns for due dates, customer details, outstanding amounts, and payment status, making it easy to follow up on overdue invoices.

8. The Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist Template by Financial Cents

Financial Cents’ Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist Template is designed to guide businesses through their monthly accounting tasks. Covering essentials like reconciling bank statements, reviewing expenses, and verifying account balances ensures no detail is overlooked.

Limitations of Using Excel for Bookkeeping

While Microsoft Excel is a fantastic, cost-effective tool, it has some limitations for bookkeeping:

• Excel lacks integration with bank accounts and payment platforms, making it challenging to automate data entry 
• It’s also not ideal for collaborative bookkeeping efforts, as there’s no real-time multi-user support
• Data security is another concern; Excel files aren’t as secure as dedicated bookkeeping software, and one accidental overwrite could mean a significant loss of data
• Scaling with Excel can become challenging, especially as your business grows and bookkeeping demands increase

Alternative Bookkeeping Templates

For users looking to go beyond Excel, offers an array of dynamic bookkeeping templates designed to simplify financial management tasks, track finances, and integrate with team workflows.

Let’s take a look at some of the templates for your bookkeeping needs:

1. The Bookkeeping Firm Template

The all-in-one Bookkeeping Firm Template is tailored for bookkeeping firms managing multiple clients’ finances. This template features client-specific dashboards, customizable statuses, and document storage integration. So you can easily organize each client’s accounts, track due dates, and facilitate billing workflows.

Automations for recurring tasks, like monthly financial reports or reminders, help free up time while keeping everything consistently up-to-date.

How to use this template:

• Automate task generation for recurring expense reports or reconciliations
• Use the Dashboard View to monitor progress and visualize financial trends
• Set up Custom Fields for client-specific details like billing rates or tax statuses

2. The Bookkeeping Pricing Template

Perfect for structuring service offerings, the Bookkeeping Pricing Template lets you set up a transparent pricing list for clients.

Whether charging hourly, by service package, or per client, it helps you manage complex pricing structures effortlessly. Built-in fields for hourly rates, custom pricing tiers, and discount tracking keep your pricing clear and consistent.

Here’s what you can do with this template:

• Use Custom Fields to document services, add-ons, and rates for easy tracking
• Create client tags to organize pricing variations for different service plans
• Save pricing templates for quick reference in client consultations

3. The Accounting Template

Designed to track revenues and business expenses and maintain a general ledger, the Accounting Template is an excellent tool for streamlining your entire accounting and bookkeeping system.

This template allows you to:

• Set task dependencies to ensure workflows align (e.g., approve expenses before invoicing)
• Assign tags to categorize expenses and income sources for better analysis
• Schedule reminders for monthly or quarterly reconciliation tasks to stay on top of finances

This comprehensive accounting template covers the entire financial landscape for small businesses, from accounts payable/receivable to monthly reconciliations. With customizable sections for invoices, ledger entries, and cash flow analysis, it enables efficient financial tracking and reporting.

4. The Accounts Payable Template

The Accounts Payable Template helps you manage invoices, due dates, and vendor relationships in one place. With built-in reminders for upcoming payments, you’ll never miss a deadline. A simplified layout organizes vendor invoices by due date, amount, and priority.

You can also:

• Use the Kanban board to visualize pending, paid, and overdue invoices
• Set color-coded tags for different types of expenses (e.g., supplies, utilities)
• Attach scanned receipts and documents directly to each task for easy access

5. The Accounting Journal Template

Managing your business finances can be a daunting task. Juggling numerous transactions, payments, and credits can consume valuable time and energy. That’s where a well-structured accounting journal template comes in handy.

’s Accounting Journal Template offers a simplified solution to your financial tracking needs. By using this template, you can:

• Record transactions swiftly and accurately: Input financial data with ease and precision
• Visualize financial insights: Gain a clear understanding of your financial performance through data visualization
• Monitor financial trends: Track changes over time to identify patterns and trends
• Streamline financial management: Eliminate manual data entry and save time on financial tasks

6. The Budget Report Template

Take control of your finances with ’s Budget Report Template. This powerful tool provides a structured framework for managing and analyzing your budget effectively.

Key features of this template include:

• Planned vs. actual tracking: Monitor spending variances to identify areas for improvement
• Monthly breakdowns: Gain granular insights into your budget performance
• Variance analysis: Understand the reasons behind budget deviations
• Gantt chart visualization: Visualize budget trends over time for clearer insights

By leveraging this template, you can make informed financial decisions, optimize spending, and achieve financial goals.

7. The Simple Budget Template

The Simple Budget Template is perfect for quick budget tracking, with essential fields for income, expenses, and savings targets. This budget template is a simplified solution for small businesses wanting to stay on top of their finances without overcomplicating things.

Here’s how you can use this template:

• Set up recurring tasks for monthly budget reviews to keep everything up-to-date
• Color-code categories like ‘Fixed Expenses’ and ‘Variable Expenses’ for easy tracking
• Integrate with your bank statements to update expenses efficiently

8. The End of Day Cash Register Report Template

Ensure accurate and efficient cash handling with ’s End-of-Day Cash Register Report Template. This template is tailored for retail businesses to simplify daily cash flow analysis.

Here’s what this template allows you to do:

• Total sales and expenses: Track your daily revenue and expenditures
• Cash flow discrepancies: Identify and address any discrepancies in your cash register
• Notes section: Document important details and observations

9. The Summary of Financial Accounts Template

Effective financial management is crucial for business success. With ’s Summary of Financial Accounts Template, you can simplify your financial tracking and gain valuable insights into your organization’s financial health.

Key benefits of using this template include:

• Rapid financial analysis: Quickly review and analyze financial data to make informed decisions
• Organized financial presentation: Present financial information in a clear and concise format
• Identify financial discrepancies: Detect and address any inconsistencies in your financial accounts
• Enhance financial transparency and accountability: Promote transparency and accountability within your organization

By utilizing this template, you can maintain a comprehensive overview of your financial performance, enabling you to make strategic decisions and drive business growth.

10. The Balance Sheet Template

The Balance Sheet Template lets you list assets, liabilities, and equity for a financial snapshot of your business. It’s useful for tracking growth and understanding your business’s financial standing at any given time.

You can also:

• Implement quarterly or annual updates to monitor growth trends
• Link to income statements to maintain a comprehensive financial record
• Set up a reporting dashboard to analyze year-over-year changes

11. The Accounting Operations Template

Accounting operations are the lifeblood of any business. However, keeping track of intricate financial details can be complex and time-consuming. ’s Accounting Operations Template simplifies this process, providing a streamlined approach to managing your day-to-day financial tasks.

Key benefits of using this template include:

• Centralized financial tracking: Easily monitor sales, expenses, customer payments, and other critical financial data
• Enhanced team collaboration: Collaborate seamlessly with your team on accounting tasks and projects
• Data-driven decision-making: Use data visualizations to gain valuable insights and make informed financial decisions

12. The Finance Management Template

The Finance Management Template is a powerful budgeting, forecasting, and planning solution. It provides KPIs, visualizations, and customizable budget fields so you can track and optimize your business finances effectively.

Here’s how you can use this template:

• Use Dashboard KPIs to monitor real-time financial performance
• Set alerts for budget variances to stay on top of financial targets
• Collaborate with team members by adding comments on budget adjustments

13. The Financial Analysis Report Template

The Financial Analysis Report Template offers in-depth reporting capabilities, helping you analyze profit margins, revenue, and expenses. It provides fields for metrics like gross profit, net income, and expense breakdowns.

With this template, you can:

• Use pre-built formula fields for automatic profit and expense calculations
• Create charts to visualize financial trends and spot growth opportunities
• Schedule monthly analysis sessions to assess profitability regularly

Power Up Your Finances with Templates

While Excel bookkeeping templates are helpful for basic financial tracking, templates elevate your bookkeeping by offering more dynamic and collaborative features. 

With , you’re not limited to static spreadsheets—you gain access to interactive dashboards, automated workflows, real-time collaboration, and task reminders.

These templates are designed for seamless integration with other financial and management tools, allowing you to consolidate all bookkeeping tasks within one platform. For small business owners and freelancers, this means better organization of finances, reduced manual errors, and a more efficient way to track financial health. 

Try for free today and experience software that actively supports your business’s growth and matches your modern bookkeeping needs.

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