Automate Your Expense Tracking in Google Sheets: A Step-by-Step Guide

You can turn a manual chore into an efficient, automated workflow, allowing you to focus on your financial goals.

As we usher in a new year, it's time to get our finances in perfect order. There's no better way to start than by automating our expense tracking in Google Sheets. This guide will walk you through some incredible automations that will transform your manual entries into a smooth and efficient process.

Set Up Your Expense Sheet

Transform negative to positive values by refining your list of expenses. All negative numbers, representing expenses, should be transformed to positive numbers for clarity. Apply the currency format for accurate representation of these amounts.

Categorization can be streamlined with a drop-down menu. Create a menu with categories such as food, utilities, and housing. Assign colors to these categories to gain insights into your spending habits at a glance.

Advanced Automations

Running Total and Balance: Configure your sheet to maintain a running total and calculate the balance left. Use simple formulas to ensure your total updates automatically as you enter new expenses.

Monthly Template Duplication: Automate the creation of a new template every month using Google Apps Script. This can be set to run automatically at the start of each month.

Automatic Timestamping: Add an automatic timestamp for every new item entry so you always know when a transaction occurred. Use built-in functions that activate upon edit.

Highlight Unfinished Entries: Use conditional formatting to highlight transactions missing an amount, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

Identifying Large Transactions: Flag transactions above a certain threshold by highlighting them in a different color to monitor significant expenses.

Automated Email Alerts

Set up email alerts for low balances to ensure your finances are never in danger of slipping. This safeguard will notify you whenever your balance drops below a specified threshold, keeping you aware of your financial health.

Make sure to check out our course: Spreadsheet Automation 101 which dives into exactly what you need to know about apps Script to automate your sheets

Leveraging Google Sheets and Apps Script, s0 you can automate your expense tracking with ease. I hope to equip you with tools to automate tasks ranging from calculating balances and duplicating templates to setting alerts for low balances. For further exploration into Google Sheets automations, check out resources on BetterSheets.co