Best free spreadsheet templates for small business

You don't need expensive software to run a small business — you need a few good spreadsheets. Here are the templates worth using and what each one solves.

1. Monthly budget template

Tracks income vs categorized spending. Shows what's left at month end. Best version: zero-based, where every dollar gets a job.

2. Cash flow forecast

Projects 12 weeks of money in/out. Critical for any service business with uneven invoice timing.

3. Invoice tracker

Logs every invoice sent, due date, paid date, and aging buckets (0–30, 31–60, 61–90, 90+). Tells you who to chase.

4. Expense log

Date, category, amount, receipt link. Tax-time gold.

5. Mileage log

Date, start, end, miles, purpose. Use the IRS standard rate to total deductions.

6. Project profitability tracker

Compares quoted vs actual hours/materials per job. Shows which clients/types of work make you money.

7. Content calendar

Date, channel, topic, status, link. Keeps marketing from being chaos.

8. Inventory tracker

SKU, on-hand, reorder point, supplier. For anyone holding physical product.

Tips for keeping templates useful

• Use one tab per "thing" — don't cram everything into one sheet
• Freeze header rows
• Use data validation for categories (fewer typos)
• Back up to Drive or Dropbox automatically

Which template to set up first

If you are starting from nothing, begin with the expense log and the invoice tracker. Together they answer the two questions that matter most in a small business: where is the money going, and who still owes you? Add the cash flow forecast once you have two or three months of real numbers to project from. The remaining templates are worth adding when the problem they solve actually shows up, such as the inventory tracker the first time you run out of stock.