Bookkeeping you can keep up with

What's inside

• Transactions. The only tab you type in. Date, description, category from a dropdown, and the amount in Money In or Money Out. A Check column flags missing dates, missing categories and amounts in both columns.
• P&L. Profit and loss by month and by category: income, refunds, cost of goods sold, expenses, gross profit and net profit. Change the year in one cell to see another year.
• Cash Flow. Opening balance, money in, money out and closing balance each month. Compare it with your bank statement to catch missing transactions.
• Tax Summary. Year totals per category, with the matching line on the US Schedule C as a guide for your accountant. Business meals are counted at 50%, and entertainment as not deductible.
• Dashboard. Net sales, costs, net profit, margin, cash balance and a monthly chart.
• Categories. 37 ready-made categories. You can rename them, including three spare custom ones.

It gets the tricky parts right

Many free bookkeeping sheets treat every dollar in as income and every dollar out as an expense. That overstates profit when you put your own money in, and understates it when you pay yourself or repay a loan. This template keeps these separate:

• Owner pay and owner investment. Money you take out or put in is not profit or loss.
• Loans. A loan you receive isn't income, and repaying the principal isn't an expense. Only the interest is.
• Sales tax. Tax you collect for the government isn't your income.
• Transfers between your own accounts. Neither income nor expense.
• Refunds. A refund you receive reduces that expense. A refund you give reduces your sales.

These items still show up in Cash Flow, because they do move money. They just stay out of your profit.

Using it

1. Set the year on the P&L tab (it starts on the current year) and your starting bank balance on Cash Flow.
2. Look at the 12 sample transactions to see how they flow through, then delete them.
3. Add transactions as they happen, or once a week from your bank statement.
4. Once a month, check the Check column is empty and that Cash Flow matches your bank balance.

In Google Sheets: upload to Drive, right-click → Open with → Google Sheets, then File → Save as Google Sheets. In Excel or LibreOffice, just open it.

About the tax summary

The Schedule C references follow the 2025 IRS form. On the IRS's draft 2026 form, interest moves to line 16c, and the file notes this. Use them as a guide for your accountant or tax software, not as tax advice. Big purchases such as equipment are usually depreciated or claimed under section 179, and your accountant decides which. Outside the US, use the category totals and ignore the Schedule C column.

Selling online?

If you sell on Etsy, Shopify, Amazon or eBay, the e-commerce profit tracker shows profit per order after platform fees, and tracks your stock.