Tracking Your Expenses + Printable Expense Tracker

Tracking Your Expenses

You just ran out of ink for the 5 orders that showed up on Etsy today.

Or you realize that you don’t have the right size canvas for that painting that’s been roaming around in your head, trying to get out.

Or the 100% cotton white thread is running low in your machine and you’re not going to have enough for that wholesale order due at the end of the week.

Or you don’t quite have the washi tape that you’re looking for to put together that exciting DIY guest post for that fabulous BIG blog.

So, you do what (I’m guessing) a lot of us do: you run out/go online and buy it!

Which is great, ’cause it gets the job done.

But, did you track that purchase for your year-end bookkeeping exercise?  You know, the one that asks you to add up all of your expenses to go against all of your earnings?

No?  Boring, right?!

Tracking Your Expenses | free printable download

Well, here’s a fun little DIY envelope template that lets you store your receipts and keep track of all of those expenses.  It’s based on a week-to-week timeframe and it’s big enough to keep both store receipts as well as online receipts that you can (and should – right then, right there!) print off.

I actually keep two: one for beside the computer where I do my online shopping and one for my purse for my in-store shopping.  Then, I throw them all in a box until the end of the month where I transfer them to my bookkeeping program.

Easy-peasey!

The template is super easy to use: print it out (it works best in colour; it’s a little light in black & white), cut along the outline, fold & secure with tape or glue.

trackexpenses2

As you can see from the picture, I simply used washi tape to secure the tabs as it’s somewhat transparent and you can write on fairly easily.

Plus, it’s so pretty!

Start being a tracking star & print yours now… click on any of the images, the link below or here & make your life easier when you hand in your expenses to the accountant next year 😉

OMHG_download_template

Do you keep good track of your expenses and if so, how?

34 comments

  1. Lucy says:

    Thank you – accounts and expenses are dirty words in my world, but you have made them pretty. If anything’s going to make my books more organised, it’s this!

    :o)

    Thank you again, Lucy x

  2. Sindy says:

    Awesome~! I do this ALL THE TIME in MY biz and well as DH’s~What a waste! It’s so frustrating. I’m printing this off RIGHT NOW< RIGHT NOW!!!! Thanks for such a great suggestion.

  3. Geri says:

    @Bee, what a great question! This envelope is really geared towards those last minute dash items that can tend to get lost in the shuffle when it comes time to declaring your expenses. If you ran out to buy a roll of washi tape, then yes! I would charge it… if that sticker was part of a larger purchase (ie, a roll or sheet of them), then I would simply put that towards the cost breakdown of whatever product I was making… sounds like another post on this might be worth something!

    @Lucy, pretty really does make yucky better, doesn’t it?!

    @Deanna, I’m a huge fan of the simply clever 😉 hope it helps!

    @Kerry, thanks so much – happy to share!

    @Sindy, you’re very welcome & as a small biz, the less waste, the better 😉

  4. ii says:

    Oh, this is good. I’m also going to use this for tracking personal finances (finally time to see how much I really spend on books. Yikes!). Thank you so much for the printable! And you’re right, pretty is always better. 🙂

  5. sara kowalski says:

    this is brilliant (and so sweet & pretty)! thank you so much for sharing. i was wondering what bookkeeping program you use/if you have any suggestions?

    thanks!

    • Geri says:

      Hi Sara! Thanks so much… it helps to do the mundane when it’s pretty, isn’t it? I use Simply Accounting, but I’m an ex-bookkeeper from a previous life 😉 Freshbooks is quite good & it’s fairly cost effective, easy to use & mobile. Lots of luck!

  6. sara kristen says:

    this is brilliant (and so sweet & pretty)! thank you so much for sharing. i was wondering what bookkeeping program you use/if you have any suggestions?

    thanks!

    (sorry about the double post)

  7. Carla Frett says:

    Hey Geri,

    It gives me immense pleasure that I came across your blog post and even more than that I got pleased with the approach of your expense tracking and reporting. One free advice I would like to give you that when you are concerned about the expenses that come in daily basis, why not then to go with tools that helps manage the expense more precise and happening. What I would like to say that when the concern is all about the expenses then I know that no one even would like to loss a single penny unnecessarily.

    My kind of management (including tracking and reporting) is being taken care by the automated tools which gives the end result with more precision. I am currently using Replicon’s expense reporting software ( http://www.replicon.com/olp/expense-reports.aspx ), Even you can go ahead with the same to get the expenses tracked and reported in all possible and lucrative manner.
    Carla!!

  8. andreaholloman says:

    I have just found this envelope and wanted to say THANK YOU. Very cute. It makes spending cash and tracking expenses a little more enjoyable!

  9. Amanda Maloney says:

    Thank you so much! I’m using this for a budgeting service for my mental health clients and it works so well because they carry a lot of cash. Thank you thank you!!

  10. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! This is even better than what I was looking for (a sales tracker) but yours is actually an envelope and I can take it with me so I don’t have to remember to write everything when I come back home, I can do it then and there! 😀 Thank you loads for this.

  11. iMom says:

    THANK YOU so much for sharing this !! this is a perfectly brilliant and genius way to store my receipts and eliminate the post it notes :))

  12. Tina Peterson says:

    This is awesome! I run a daycare from my home and really need to do better with my tracking – but I’m not # oriented and find the business side very overwhelming. This is awesome!

  13. Sam Patrick says:

    My husband and I are trying to help my nephew get on his feet on his own. We want him to start out using cash envelopes but have also taught him how to balance a checkbook. These will be perfect for him to practice balancing it. AND he can look in the envelope to see if he was right. PERFECT

Comments are closed.