Budget Spreadsheet: Your Questions Answered
Clear, direct answers to the questions people ask most about the Budget Spreadsheet — setup, categories, taxes, and automation — all in one place.
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Getting started
How do I set up the budget spreadsheet?
Copy the Google Sheet to your Drive, enter your monthly income on the Dashboard tab, set a planned budget for each category, then either log expenses manually or connect Avery for automatic bank sync. Setup takes about 15 minutes.
What is a budget spreadsheet?
A budget spreadsheet is a structured sheet that lists your income, planned spending by category, and actual spending, then calculates what's left. It gives you the same control as a budgeting app while letting you own and customize the file.
Can I use the budget spreadsheet on my phone?
Yes. The Google Sheets mobile app opens the full spreadsheet, so you can check your dashboard or log an expense in about 30 seconds from anywhere.
Is Google Sheets better than Excel for budgeting?
For most people, yes — Google Sheets is free, auto-saves to the cloud, syncs across devices, and is easy to share with a partner. It also connects to Avery for automatic bank sync, which Excel does not.
Using the template
How does budget vs. actual tracking work?
You set a planned amount for each category, and the actual column fills in as you log spending (or as Avery syncs it). The spreadsheet shows the difference so you can see exactly where you're over or under each month.
How many spending categories should I use?
Start with 10–15 broad categories like housing, groceries, transport, and fun money. Too many categories make a budget hard to maintain. You can always split a category later if you need more detail.
Can I budget with irregular or variable income?
Yes. Budget against your lowest recent month so your plan always holds, and treat any income above that as a bonus to save or put toward debt. The template has a single income field you can update each month.
Does it handle multiple bank accounts?
Yes. You can log spending from any number of accounts, and with Avery connected, transactions from every linked checking, savings, and credit card account flow into one sheet automatically.
Customizing it
Can I change the categories?
Yes — rename, add, or delete any category on the Categories tab and the dashboard and totals update automatically. Make it match how you actually spend.
Can I use it for a weekly or annual budget instead of monthly?
Yes. Duplicate the monthly tab for each week, or lay 12 months side by side for an annual view. The same formulas work at any cadence.
Can I share it with my partner?
Yes. Google Sheets lets both people edit in real time, so couples can manage one shared budget spreadsheet together without emailing files back and forth.
Automating with Avery
How does Avery keep the spreadsheet updated?
Avery connects to your bank through a read-only link, imports every new transaction, and uses AI to sort each one into your categories — so your budget spreadsheet stays current without any manual entry. You just review weekly.
Is my financial data safe with Avery?
The spreadsheet lives in your own Google Drive — you own it, not a third-party app. Avery's bank connections are read-only and bank-grade encrypted and can never move money. Two-factor authentication on your Google account adds another layer.
How much does Avery cost?
The template is free forever. Avery's automatic bank sync and AI categorization are a paid subscription with a free trial, so you can see the automated version of the spreadsheet before paying.
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