Free Template for Tracking Income for Your Home Business
Owning your own business is hard, even before you add in paperwork problems like bookkeeping, taxes, marketing, and other administrative tasks. When that’s not your forte, you’ll grab for anything to help.
Luckily, administration is one of my favorite things, and I can’t get much done until I have all my ducks in a row. While this does make for very interesting procrastinating sessions, it also means that I track everything, including every little task and project. We support strong women around here, so if you’re a boss lady who needs some help with tracking your gigs, you’ve found the right place. We’re including our financial tracking spreadsheet for free in this post to get you started. Take a look.
*Disclaimer: Some of the links you see may be affiliate links. All that means is if you click through and end up making a purchase, I’ll earn a commission.
The Free Template
When I encounter a blog post that takes you through an entire life story and fifty possible ways the author could have solved a problem, before finally giving you the advertised solution that worked, I get frustrated really fast. That’s why I’m giving you the free template right here, right up front. Keep reading if you want more details about it, but if you don’t, well, you won’t be bogged down by having to scroll through dither. That’s how I structure all my posts, even the recipes, like this blueberry pie post.
Using Google’s Office Suite
The template above is in Google Sheets format. I've set the permission so you can view it but not edit it. If you want to use it for your own purposes, you can go to File>>Download As>> and then choose your preferred format (likely Microsoft Excel). Or if you like Google Sheets and want to use it in the cloud, you can log in to your Google account and then choose Add To My Drive. Once it’s part of your Google Drive, you can create a copy of the template, which makes you the owner and gives you editing privileges. For more on using Google Sheets, check out this helpful post.
About the Template
This template gives me a place to track each task I complete for each client. The pay date is in the far left column, and I organize by pay date. That means if I do work this month for Client Y but I won’t get paid until next month, I’ll list my project on next month’s sheet (by the way, check out the bottom. There is a sheet for every month in the year, and on the last sheet, everything totals itself. You don’t have to do anything except plug in numbers and let the formulas do the rest.
Because I’m a writer, I’ve titled some columns with qualities pertaining to that industry. For example, I find it really helpful to track how many words I write per piece and per month. I also want to know what my rate per word ends up being (it’s recommended you seek out a pay rate of $0.06-$0.10/word to be worth your time). Then there’s that pesky time thing -- I also track how much time I spend on each project and then I averaged it at the bottom so I can tell what my general rate per hour is, although I don’t charge my clients that way.
Using Colors
If I write a particularly spectacular article that I think would be good for an example when I pitch a new client, I highlight the row in light blue. That way I can find the best articles later. I also save them with the rating my editor gave it in the title, so it’s easier to find, but you may not have an editor or a rating system. A specific color for your best work gives you an eye-catching system to make searching easier.
I also use my spreadsheet as my weekly task list. I highlight upcoming tasks in bright yellow, a color I detest. I do this to help motivate myself to get them done, because as soon as I’m finished, I can take away the fill color. Whatever color works best for you to do this is fine, but it helps you plan your workload and let your clients know what you can take on that week.
Lastly, I use a light mauve to keep track of totals. I like to highlight cells that include a total for a pay date from a specific client. Remember how I said I list a new project on each line, even if it’s from the same client and it will be on the same paycheck as another project? I may end up with 20 lines of projects and only one pay date. That means I use the SUM feature to add the cells up and then I highlight it that pink color so I know what the check should total. It makes it easier to double check your invoices, if that’s how you charge, or your checks, so you don’t get shorted.
Be Your Own Superhero
We want you to succeed, and that means tracking your income. There are many ways to make money online from home, but whether you’re teaching kids English via Skype or making homemade cards and selling them on Etsy, you need tools to help you report the income to the government. This free template can help you get started on the road to being more organized with your home business.
For more free templates, read my post about favorite organizational tools or for more on money management, try this post.
*Disclaimer: Some of the links you see may be affiliate links. All that means is if you click through and end up making a purchase, I’ll earn a commission.