Business expense receipts to Excel

Capture expenses before they fade

If you're self-employed, you need a record of your business expenses for bookkeeping and tax time. The trouble is that receipts pile up in wallets, car door pockets and laptop bags, and thermal paper can fade long before the end of the year.

Once a month, add your receipt photos here to build an expense log. Files are named business-expenses_date_time.xlsx with a sheet called Expenses, and a folder of monthly files is easy to combine at year end.

Columns worth adding

Write down the business purpose while you still remember it. A date, store and amount show that you spent money, but not why it was a business expense, and that's usually the question that matters. What counts as deductible and how long you must keep records vary by country and business type, so check your tax authority's guidance or ask an accountant.

Photographing business receipts

• Get the whole receipt in the frame. The table only records the date, store and total, but the photo should keep everything else you might need later.
• Thermal paper fades within months. A photo on the day you get the receipt is the most reliable copy.
• For a mixed personal and business purchase, note the business portion in a Notes column.

A 10-minute monthly check

Download your business card transactions and match them to the table by date and amount. A card charge with no matching receipt means a receipt is missing. A receipt with no matching charge was probably paid another way. Doing this once a month saves you from digging through a year of receipts at tax time.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use this spreadsheet for my tax return?

It's a summary of your spending, not a finished set of books. How expenses are reported depends on your country and business structure, so treat it as a starting point for your accountant or bookkeeping software.

Does it separate out sales tax or VAT?

No. It captures the total only. Tax lines on the receipt aren't treated as the total and aren't added to the table.

Can I import the file into accounting software?

Most bookkeeping tools can import a spreadsheet of transactions. If yours asks for CSV, save the file as CSV from Excel and map the Date, Store and Total columns to its fields.