Free self-employed income and expense tracker template
By The Income Tracker ยท Updated 8 September 2026
In short
Sole traders need three things on record: every invoice paid, every allowable expense with its category, and a tax pot. This template does all three, using the same expense categories as the self-employment pages of a Self Assessment return so nothing needs re-sorting in January.
Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice. It is a plain CSV, so nothing is locked, tracked or macro-enabled.
What is in the template
Date
Description
Category
Money in
Money out
Reference
2026-09-02
Invoice 0041: website build
Sales and income
1800.00
Client: Acme Ltd
2026-09-04
Laptop stand and cables
Phone, stationery and office costs
38.99
Receipt saved
2026-09-05
Train to client meeting
Car, van and travel expenses
24.60
Return ticket
2026-09-06
Accounting software subscription
Phone, stationery and office costs
12.00
Monthly
2026-09-09
Invoice 0042: monthly retainer
Sales and income
650.00
Client: Bloom Studio
2026-09-10
Public liability insurance
Rent, rates, power and insurance costs
9.50
Monthly instalment
Columns explained:
Date: The date money actually arrived or left, which is what most sole traders use (cash basis).
Description: Invoice number and job for income; what was bought for expenses.
Category: Sales and income, plus the expense headings used on the self-employment pages of the tax return: cost of goods, travel, office costs, insurance, advertising, professional fees, bank charges and so on.
Money in / Money out: Business money only. Personal spending stays in your personal ledger.
Reference: Client name, receipt saved, business-use percentage. The things HMRC could ask about later.
How to use it
Download the CSV and open it in a spreadsheet, or import it into The Income Tracker as its own ledger.
Delete the example rows. Add income as it is paid, with the invoice number in the description.
Add expenses with the matching category. When in doubt, note the business-use share in the Reference column.
Move a fixed share of every payment (many sole traders use 20 to 30 percent) into a separate tax pot and log it as "Set aside for tax" so it never looks like spendable money.
Why the categories match the tax return
At year end, the self-employment pages of a Self Assessment return ask for expenses under fixed headings: cost of goods, car and travel, staff, premises and insurance, repairs, office and phone, advertising, interest, bank charges, bad debts, professional fees, and other. Track under those headings from day one and the return is a copy job. Track under "misc" and January becomes a shoebox of receipts.
Keep business and personal apart
If you use a separate business account, export its CSV each month and import that. If everything runs through one personal account, import the CSV, mark the business rows with these categories and leave the rest in your personal categories. The tracker remembers each merchant, so the second month is mostly automatic.
The Income TrackerSkip the spreadsheet. Import your bank CSV and the totals do themselves.
For a simple sole trader with a modest turnover, a clean record of income and categorised expenses is what you need for a Self Assessment return. If you are VAT registered, employ people or need digital quarterly submissions, you will want proper software on top.
Which expenses can I claim?
Allowable expenses are the costs of running the business, such as stock, travel for work, tools, phone and office costs, insurance and professional fees. HMRC's guidance lists them in detail. Track everything with a category and decide at year end.
Can I import this into The Income Tracker?
Yes. The headers match the importer, so the categories come across with the rows. Many people keep a separate ledger for the business.