Free template
Small Business Bookkeeping Template
A free bookkeeping template for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs. Log income and expenses, and it builds your monthly profit and loss, a Schedule C summary, quarterly estimated tax amounts and account reconciliations. Use it right here with nothing to install, or download it for Excel and Google Sheets.
No sign-up. Your numbers stay in your browser and are never uploaded.
Bookkeeping workbook
Loading…
Reset
You're looking at sample numbers for a small design studio. Click around, then start with your own.
Loading the template…
Saved automatically in this browser only. Use Download my Excel or the backup on Setup to keep a copy.
How to use it
Six habits that keep the books clean
A template only helps if the entries are complete. These are the habits we check first when we take over a set of books.
- 01
Set up once
Add your business name, the accounts you use and their January 1 balances, and your tax rates. The categories already follow Schedule C.
- 02
Log income
Every payment you receive: date, customer, category and the account it went into.
- 03
Log expenses
Every purchase or bill. Paying your credit card or moving money to savings is a Transfer, not an expense.
- 04
Separate yourself from the business
Money you take out is an Owner draw. Money you put in is an Owner contribution. Neither changes profit.
- 05
Reconcile monthly
Type each statement's ending balance on the Accounts tab. Zero difference means nothing is missing.
- 06
Check before each tax date
The Estimated tax tab shows what to pay by April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15.
What's inside
Everything a sole proprietor needs, nothing more
Setup
Business name, tax year, accounts with opening balances, tax rates, and categories you can rename.
Income and Expenses
One row per transaction: date, who, category, account, amount. Sales tax split out if you collect it.
Dashboard
Income, expenses, profit and margin for the year, a month-by-month chart and your biggest costs.
Monthly profit and loss
Every category by month with totals, so you can see slow months and creeping costs.
Schedule C summary
Totals arranged by line of the IRS form, with meals already cut to 50%.
Estimated tax
What to set aside for each quarterly payment, with the IRS due dates and what you've paid.
Sales tax
Collected versus sent to the state, month by month, with a running balance owed.
Accounts
Month-end balance for every bank and card account, next to your statement, so you can reconcile.
Categories
Small business expense categories, mapped to Schedule C
The template starts with these. Rename them or add your own; as long as each keeps its Schedule C line, your year-end totals land on the right line of the form.
| Category | Schedule C line |
|---|---|
| Cost of goods sold | 4 · Cost of goods sold |
| Advertising | 8 · Advertising |
| Car and truck | 9 · Car and truck expenses |
| Commissions and fees | 10 · Commissions and fees |
| Contract labor | 11 · Contract labor |
| Depreciation | 13 · Depreciation and section 179 |
| Employee benefits | 14 · Employee benefit programs |
| Insurance | 15 · Insurance (other than health) |
| Interest: mortgage | 16a · Interest: mortgage |
| Interest: other | 16b · Interest: other |
| Legal and professional | 17 · Legal and professional services |
| Office expense | 18 · Office expense |
| Retirement plans | 19 · Pension and profit-sharing plans |
| Equipment rental | 20a · Rent or lease: vehicles, machinery, equipment |
| Rent | 20b · Rent or lease: other business property |
| Repairs and maintenance | 21 · Repairs and maintenance |
| Supplies | 22 · Supplies |
| Taxes and licenses | 23 · Taxes and licenses |
| Travel | 24a · Travel |
| Meals (50% deductible) | 24b · Deductible meals |
| Utilities | 25 · Utilities |
| Phone and internet | 25 · Utilities |
| Wages | 26 · Wages |
| Software and subscriptions | 27a · Other expenses |
| Bank and merchant fees | 27a · Other expenses |
| Education and training | 27a · Other expenses |
| Other expenses | 27a · Other expenses |
| Business use of home | 30 · Business use of home |
When the spreadsheet gets heavy
Rather hand the books to someone?
Ledgerbrook keeps small business books in QuickBooks Online: categorized, reconciled every month, and ready for your tax preparer. Fixed monthly price, no contract.
Frequently asked
Bookkeeping template FAQ
How do I do bookkeeping for a small business in a spreadsheet?
Keep one list of money in and one list of money out, and give every row a date, a category and the account it moved through. Use categories that match Schedule C so your year-end totals line up with the tax form. Then reconcile each account against its statement every month. This template does the totals, reports and reconciliation math for you.
What should a small business bookkeeping spreadsheet include?
At minimum: an income log, an expense log, a category list, a monthly profit and loss, and account balances you can check against bank statements. For a sole proprietor it also helps to see totals by Schedule C line and how much to set aside for quarterly estimated taxes. All of those are in this template.
Is this bookkeeping template really free?
Yes. There's no sign-up and no email gate. Use it on this page or download the Excel file and keep it.
Where is my data stored when I use the online version?
Only in your own browser, using local storage on your device. Nothing is sent to Ledgerbrook. That also means it won't follow you to another device: use Download backup on the Setup tab, or Download my Excel, to move it.
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Download the .xlsx file, then in Google Sheets choose File, Import, Upload. The formulas use functions that work the same in Excel and Google Sheets.
Can I use it for an LLC?
Yes, if it is a single-member LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship, which files Schedule C. Multi-member LLCs and S corporations file different returns, so the Schedule C and estimated tax tabs won't apply, though the income, expense, profit and loss and account tabs still work.
How much should I set aside for taxes when self-employed?
Self-employment tax alone is about 14.1% of profit (15.3% on 92.35% of it), before any income tax. Many sole proprietors set aside 25% to 30% of profit in total. The Estimated tax tab works out a figure from your actual profit and your own rates, quarter by quarter.
Can I just use Excel instead of QuickBooks?
Yes, until you outgrow it. That usually happens when you pass about 100 transactions a month, hire employees, carry inventory, or need statements a lender or buyer will rely on. At that point bookkeeping software with bank feeds, or a bookkeeper, saves more time than it costs.