FinWise spending guide

Expense Tracker Template for Google Sheets and Excel

Last updated: November 14, 2026

By Delo Labs · Published November 14, 2026

An expense tracker template is a spreadsheet with one row per payment and a header that names every column. Download the CSV below, import it into Google Sheets or Excel, delete the example rows, and type what you actually spent. A monthly category total is a SUMIFS formula, or a pivot table built from the same rows.

The file does not connect to a bank, a UPI app, or an SMS inbox. A payment you do not type, or paste, is missing. That is the point of a spreadsheet: you choose the columns, and you also do the entry. If you would rather capture a payment while you are still at the counter, the later section compares that with an app.

This is general education, not personal financial, tax, or legal advice. The four sample rows are labelled Example. They are not a household, a recommended budget, or a survey. Amounts are plain numbers so a formula can add them. In the sample they stand for rupees. The file itself has no currency symbol.

Download the CSV

Download the FinWise expense tracker template (CSV). Save it before you import. The first row is the header. Do not add a title above that row, or the formulas later in this guide will point at the wrong cells.

Those four example amounts add to 2,150. Groceries are 450, transport is 120, eating out is 80, and housing is 1,500. After you delete the example rows, your totals will be whatever you enter. Keep the header.

What each column is for

• Date is the day the money left, written as a year, month, and day, such as 2026-11-02. Use the payment date, not the day you remembered to type it, when you know both.
• Amount is a number only. No currency sign, and no thousands comma. 1500 can be added. A cell that says Rs 1,500 often will not.
• Category is one label you will reuse. Groceries stays Groceries. A second spelling, such as Grocery, becomes a second total.
• Payment method is how you paid: UPI, cash, card, or a bank transfer. It does not move the money. It only describes the row.
• Merchant/Note is the shop, the person, or a short reminder. The sample rows start with Example so they are easy to find and delete.
• Receipt? is Yes or No. Yes means you still have a bill or a photo. It does not upload that file into the spreadsheet.
• Month is text for the month of the date, such as 2026-11. SUMIFS uses this cell. It is not a second amount.

After import, read the Month column. It should still show the characters 2026-11. If a cell shows a different date, type 2026-11 again before you trust a match. The formulas below look for that text. Also read Amount. It should be a number, not a sentence.

Add a column only at the right, after Month, if you need one. Inserting a column in the middle moves Amount, Category, or Month, and the formulas in this guide will add the wrong cells. If you pay in more than one currency, add a Currency column after Month and do not mix those amounts in one SUMIFS total.

Import the CSV into Google Sheets

Google documents this on Import data sets and spreadsheets. The page says you can import a CSV, and it lists these steps.

1. On a computer, open a spreadsheet in Google Sheets. A blank sheet is enough.
2. At the top, click File, then Import.
3. Upload the CSV you saved. The documented file types include .csv.
4. Choose an import option. Create new spreadsheet opens the rows in a new tab. Replace current sheet puts them in the sheet you have open. Either is fine if row 1 is still the header.
5. Under separator character, choose Comma. Detect automatically is also listed. This file uses commas.
6. Click Import.

You should see seven columns, with Date in column A and Month in column G. If the whole line sits in column A, the separator did not split the file. Import again and choose Comma. Google lists Comma as a separator for a plain text file such as CSV.

Rename the sheet tab to Expenses. Double-click the tab and type that name. The summary formulas below use Expenses. If you leave the tab as Sheet1, use Sheet1 in the formula instead. Do not put a space in the sheet name, or you will also need quotes around it.

Import the CSV into Excel

Microsoft documents a Text/CSV import on Import data from data sources (Power Query). For a file, the basic steps are:

1. Open a blank workbook in Excel.
2. Select Data, then Get Data, then From File, then From Text/CSV.
3. Browse to the CSV and select Open.
4. In the preview, confirm the first row is the column names and that Date, Amount, Category, Payment method, Merchant/Note, Receipt?, and Month are separate columns. Microsoft says Power Query detects the delimiter and uses the first row as the column names.
5. Load the rows into the workbook.

That menu is the path Microsoft documents. Excel for the web can differ. If you do not see Get Data, use the Google Sheets import above. The same CSV is the source either way.

Rename the sheet that received the rows to Expenses, so the formulas match. Then check Amount and Month the same way as in Sheets. Microsoft also says, on its PivotTable page, that a value field is summed when Excel treats it as a number, and counted when Excel treats it as text. A count of rows is not a spending total.

Add a monthly category summary with SUMIFS

SUMIFS adds a range where every criterion on that row is true. Google documents SUMIFS as SUMIFS(sum_range, criteria_range1, criterion1, criteria_range2, criterion2, ...). Microsoft documents the same order: the range to add comes first, then each range and the test for that range. Sum the Amount column. Test Category, then test Month.

On the Expenses sheet, with the header in row 1, this formula adds Groceries for the month text 2026-11, from row 2 through row 500:

=SUMIFS(B2:B500, C2:C500, "Groceries", G2:G500, "2026-11")

B is Amount, C is Category, and G is Month. On the four example rows, and on no other rows, that formula returns 450. Empty rows in the range do not match Groceries, so they add nothing. When you pass row 500, widen the range in every formula. Do not point a formula at the entire column if the summary sits on the same sheet, or you can include the formula cell in its own total.

A cleaner layout is a second sheet named Summary. Put the month in B1. Put each category in column A, starting at A2. In B2, type:

=SUMIFS(Expenses!B2:B500, Expenses!C2:C500, A2, Expenses!G2:G500, $B$1)

A2 is the category on that summary row, so you can fill the formula down. $B$1 stays on the month while you fill. The English help pages linked above separate arguments with commas. If formulas already in your file use a semicolon between arguments, use that separator instead. The names of the arguments do not change.

Add the four results and you get 2,150, the same as adding the example amounts by hand. If your sheet returns 0, the Category text does not match, or the Month cell is no longer the characters 2026-11. SUMIFS does not guess a nearby spelling.

A category total is a description of rows you typed. It does not say the category should be smaller, and it does not include a payment you forgot. Cash counts only after you add a cash row. For a way to compare a month with a plan, see five budgeting methods and how to track them.

Or use a pivot table

A pivot table groups the same list without a formula per category. Build it from the expense rows, including the header, and leave the example rows out once you are done practising.

Google Sheets

Create and use pivot tables says each column needs a header. Select the expense cells, then click Insert, then Pivot table. In the side panel, next to Rows, click Add and choose Category. Next to Values, click Add and choose Amount. The same page says you can change how a value is summarized: next to it, click the down arrow, and set the summary to SUM. You want a sum of Amount, not a count of rows.

To keep one month, limit the selected cells to that month before you insert the pivot, or use the filter control if the editor offers one for Month. The pivot refreshes when the source cells change. It still cannot invent a row you never typed.

Excel

Microsoft, on the PivotTable page linked above, documents this for Excel for Windows. Select the cells. They need a single header row. Select Insert, then PivotTable. Choose New Worksheet, then OK. In the field list, select the check box for Category and the check box for Amount. Microsoft says a non-numeric field goes to Rows and a numeric field goes to Values. Amount should appear as Sum of Amount. If it says Count of Amount, the column was read as text. Change it from the arrow beside the field name, under Value Field Settings, to Sum.

You can drag a field from one area to another. Drag Month to the area where you can filter, and keep 2026-11, if you want one month. Excel for the web uses Insert, then PivotTable, as well. Menu names on a phone can differ. The Sheets steps above are the browser path if the Excel menu you have does not match.

If you add rows later, a pivot does not always expand by itself. In Excel, Microsoft says to refresh the PivotTable after the source changes. Formatting the expense rows as a table is one way the same page suggests so new rows can be included on refresh. In Sheets, edit the pivot source range if your new rows sit outside it.

Spreadsheet or app: when each one works

A spreadsheet is the flexible, manual choice. You can rename a category, add a note, or change a formula because the grid is yours. It fits a weekly review at a desk, a month you want to sort, and anyone who will actually open the file. It fits poorly on a crowded bus, and it fits poorly if the rows never get typed. The total then describes a partial list and looks exact anyway.

An app is the capture-on-the-go choice. You record the payment while the amount is still on the screen, instead of reconstructing it on Sunday. The record is only as complete as the captures you make. An app does not remove the need to notice a transfer you do not want in spending, such as moving money to yourself.

FinWise is an online Android expense tracker from Delo Labs. You add a record by voice, receipt scan, shared payment message, invoice, or manual entry, and you review the draft before it is saved. FinWise does not ask you to link a bank account. It does not send money. Pricing is in-app subscriptions on Google Play, see listing. The expense tracker page explains those entries, and how it works shows the same five ways in.

Use the spreadsheet when the columns matter more than speed. Use the app when the moment of payment matters more than a custom grid. Some people do both: capture in the app, then type a monthly summary into this sheet. Do not add the same purchase twice and then treat the combined total as the month.

UPI payments can go in this sheet without giving any app permission to read text messages. The guide on tracking UPI payments without SMS permission covers a weekly check of the UPI history or bank statement, and what to log right after you pay.

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Mistakes that make the total look finished

• Leaving the four Example rows in the month you are tracking. They add 2,150 that you did not spend.
• Typing Rs 450 or 1,500 with a comma. Keep Amount numeric.
• Using two names for one category, then wondering why Groceries looks small.
• Putting November in one row and 2026-11 in another. The formula matches text exactly.
• Forgetting cash, then comparing the sheet with a budget as if cash had been included.
• Counting a transfer between your own accounts as spending. The sheet will add it if you leave it in Amount.

A useful check is to add the category totals and compare that with a plain sum of the Amount column for the same month. They should match. If they do not, a row has a month or a category the summary does not list, or a formula range stops too early. Matching totals still do not prove that every payment from your week is in the file.

Questions

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