Budget Tracker · Free · No account
A zero-based budget spreadsheet that assigns all your income.
The zero-based setup is for planning each month until all your income is assigned to a line, then logging what you spend. Lines are grouped as Fixed costs, Variable spending and Debt, beside Income and Savings.
- Excel 2016 and later
- Calculations checked in LibreOffice, Google Sheets and Apple Numbers
- Choose the monthsPick the first month, the year and 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. Choose the currency, then a budget style: standard, 50/30/20 or zero-based.
- Choose how you recordType one total for each line each month, or log each payment on a Transactions sheet. Switch on payment day and an account column if you want them.
- Download and planFill in the Budget sheet with the monthly amount for each line. Every month sheet lists those lines, ready for actual spending.
Build your workbook
Preview: Zero-based budget. Change the selected dates, categories or layout to update the preview.
JavaScript is required to use the builder. The workbook is made in your browser.
What you get
What is different in this setup
People who want to plan each month until the money is fully assigned, then check the plan against what they spent.
- Left to assign on the Budget sheet, highlighted until it reaches 0.
- Payments are logged on a Transactions sheet.
- Each month sheet adds up those payments for every line.
Sheets included (19)
- Start HereHow the workbook works, what each sheet is for and the settings used.
- BudgetThe plan, once: every line of income, saving and spending with its monthly amount. Every month sheet lists these lines.
- TransactionsEach payment in or out, with its budget line. The month sheets add these up.
- 12 month pagesOctober 2026: planned, actual and the difference for every line, with the month’s totals beside them.
- SummaryThe year so far: income, spent, saved, left over, the largest overspends and totals by group and category.
- YearWhat came in and went out for every line, month by month, with totals and the difference to date.
- ListsEdit the white lists to change dropdown choices. Shaded lists are fixed because formulas use those names.
- SettingsValues used by the workbook, such as reminder windows. Change them here.
File details
- Made for
- Excel 2016 and laterThe download is an .xlsx workbook.
- LibreOffice
- No calculation errors in our testLibreOffice recalculated every formula in the workbook with no error values, such as #VALUE! or #N/A.
- Google Sheets
- Calculations matched Excel in our testGoogle Sheets removes sheet protection and repeated print headings.
- Apple Numbers
- A version made for NumbersChoose Apple Numbers under Look and layout: the same sheets and checks, and every calculation matched in our test in Numbers. Numbers removes sheet protection and frozen headings; Start Here says how to set the header rows.
- Calculations
- The Start Here sheet explains what each sheet works out. Results update from the entries you add.
- Builder privacy
- The builder runs in your browser. The entries used to make the workbook stay on your device. How the utilities work
Questions
Are my builder entries sent to Due Form?
No. The builder uses them in your browser to make the workbook on your device.
Information is sent to Due Form when you submit a form or use another service described on the How it works page.
What does Left to assign mean?
It is income minus everything planned as saved or spent. When it reaches 0, all your income is assigned to a line.
Does it work with pounds only?
No. Choose the currency in the builder: pound, euro, US dollar and several others, or plain numbers with no symbol.
Related Due Form edition
The Career Break File
Plan the dates, money, work arrangement and return for a defined break from paid work.
Use it when a budget has to cover months without pay.
Request a tool or send feedback
Request a tool or report a problem
Tell us what you would like to add, change or fix in the Budget Tracker builder.