Sole Trader Money Tracker

Most of us have a rough idea what comes in and no real idea what's left.

This is the calm way to see it. Put your numbers in once and it shows you what you earn, what goes out, what you owe and what's actually yours. No app, no subscription, no signing up to anything. It's an Excel file. It's yours.

What's inside

• A one-page dashboard that pulls the whole lot together
• Regular money in and out, with weekly and annual amounts converted to monthly for you
• A spending log with a running balance that keeps itself up to date
• Debts ranked by interest rate, so you know which one to clear first
• Net worth and home equity, tracked month by month
• A business tab for your outgoings and the work you're expecting to be paid for
• Six charts that build themselves as you fill it in

How it works

Five minutes to set up. Put in your opening balances and your start month, and every date in the workbook sorts itself out from there. Then about ten minutes a month to keep it current.

There's a Start Here tab that walks you through it in plain English. Yellow cells are the ones you fill in. Every formula is locked, so you can't break it by accident.

Who it's for

Sole traders and small business owners who want to see their personal and business money side by side, without learning accounting software. Works whether you have a business or not, and there's a tab you can just ignore if you don't.

What you need

Microsoft Excel on Windows or Mac. It's an .xlsx file, so it works offline and nothing is stored anywhere but your own computer.

A note on tax



This helps you keep track of your own money, and gives you something tidy to hand your accountant when they ask. It isn't tax advice and it doesn't work out what you owe. For the rules, and for your own figures, speak to HMRC or a qualified accountant.