We wanted to start off by saying a big thank your purchase and supporting our business.
We’ve created this helpful instruction guide to ensure setting up your spreadsheet is as easy as possible.
In this guide, we will walk you through setting up your spreadsheet, provide answers to frequently asked questions and share tips on how to use Google sheets so you can utilise your spreadsheet properly.
So, without rambling on for too long, let’s take a close look into your spreadsheet!
Bookkeeping & Spreadsheet
The bookkeeping spreadsheet is designed for you, by you!
This spreadsheet is one of the first spreadsheets in our ‘bookkeeping & accounting range’. It was created to make tracking business finances easier.
Some of our amazing features include:
• Customising colours of the spreadsheet to your preference
• Changing currency in seconds
• Add up to 156 different income and expenses
The 9 tabs
This spreadsheet includes nice tabs and are all located at the bottom of your spreadsheet.
You can switch between tabs by clicking on them.
Before you begin to set up your spreadsheet, let’s look into each tab by reviewing it’s functionality.
Start Tab – Configure your spreadsheet
Here, can you edit your categories, set your currency and set your desired start date.
Any changes made here, will affect the entire spreadsheet.
Transactions Tab – Record separate transactions for your income and expenses. They will be automatically be added to the correct tab for you.
This tab included user-friendly drop-down menus to make logging transactions easier.
Month, Custom, Year and 6 year Tab – These overview tabs allow you to view your income, expenses and profit.
It registers the totals of everything you have logged in the log tab.
All you have to do is choose and set the start date.
This tab can be duplicated to create as many overviews as you need, we’ll go more in depth about this later on.
Balance Report – Keep track of 25 different account balances
VAT/Sales Tax & Fees tab – In this tab you can find an overview of all collected and paid sales/vat taxes as well as other fees entered in the log tab.
Now that you a little more familiar with the spreadsheet, let’s take a closer look into how to set it up and the functionality of every single tab.
Disclaimer: As mentioned on Etsy
• Google sheets – Google sheets is not compatible with Excel or any other spreadsheet application, this spreadsheet is for Google sheets only.
• Copyright – This spreadsheet and design is copyrighted by Nicky Bentley and Crown Connective. When you purchase this product, it is for personal use only and should not be copied, manipulated or resold. It is illegal to resell, share, reproduce or distribute this spreadsheet either in part or full.
• Spreadsheet – Neither Crown Connective or Nicky Bentley are affiliated with Google sheets.
• Disclaimer – This spreadsheet is for information use only. Crown Connective and Nicky Bentley do not provide financial, tax, business tax or legal advice. Please seek advice from a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions that could impact yourself or your business. Crown Connective and Nicky Bentley are not responsible for any financial costs, losses or damage (direct or indirectly) that is a result from the use of this spreadsheet.
• Refunds – All sales are final when you purchase any of Crown Connective’s digital products. We don’t accept returns, refunds or exchanges.
Instructions
IMPORTANT INFO: Various sections and tabs in this spreadsheet have been protected.
When you try to modify a protected field, row or column, a warning is displayed.
We did this to prevent accidental changes to the worksheet that would change the functions of the spreadsheet so you can use this spreadsheet without any worries.
If you’ve used Google sheets before, you can click the ‘okay’ tab so you can alter the spreadsheet.
If you’ve never used Google sheets or is unfamiliar with the functionality and formulas, we recommend not to edit the protected fields within the spreadsheet. Please keep the functionality as is, so it’s easier for you to use.
Disclaimer
This bookkeeping spreadsheet is created for use in all countries. We have created it so regardless of which country you reside in, you can use it and track your business income, expenses and VAT.
It is essential that you seek advice from a financial advisor on how you should set up you’re bookkeeping.
Why should I seek advice from a financial advisor?
You must check which sources of income you should collect sales tax and also which taxes you can receive a return.
You must check which subcategories you should use for your income and expenses.
What VAT applies to your business.
These are a few examples of accounting requirements, please remember that they differ from country and sometimes state. This is why we recommend you seek financial advice regarding bookkeeping and tax, we cannot provide any tax advice.
Read Me Tab
This tab provides the user with all the information they need to help them use the spreadsheet. Please follow the step-by-step guide, if you still find it difficult, click on the ‘Google Sheet Tips’ tab.
Start Guide
The start tab allows the user to set up their spreadsheet with ease. Any changes made in the start tab section will affect the entire spreadsheet. It is essential that you use the start tab as the spreadsheet has been created to transfer information from the start tab. If you have any queries regarding how to change the currency, change the categories or set your start date, we will explain below.
1. Change currency and start date
The currency is set in GBP (£) but can be changed easily to any currency of your choice. To change the currency, click on the £ and change it to your currency sign or abbreviation. For example, the USA is (USD or $), Europe is (EUR or €) etc. When you make changes here, it will affect the entire spreadsheet. After, you can change the start date.
Double click on a day in the calendar to choose your start date. The start date functionality allows you to create a 6-year month by month breakdown for your profit goals, it should not be used for any other tabs.
2. Change your categories
Now that you have set your preferred currency, you now need to set your categories. This spreadsheet allows you to record:
• 78 income categories
• 78 expense categories
Any changes made here will affect the entire spreadsheet. To customise a category simply click on the category you want to customise. For example, click on ‘expense’ and replace it with a category of your own. If you don’t want to use a category, you can delete it by clicking on the category and clicking the backspace button on your keyboard.
Be advised that it is not possible to add more categories, this spreadsheet has been created with the exact number of categories you can see within the spreadsheet.
3. Add your monthly profit goals
Now that you have entered your start date and changed your currency, it’s now time to add your profit and goals. This step is optional, you can add the first month only or all months at once. Your profit targets are used to calculate your profit progress on the overview tabs.
The Transactions Tab
The transactions tab is used to log all of your separate transactions. The transactions include earned income and expenses you’ve made. This tab allows you to log all of your individual transactions, they will be automatically added to the correct tab and section for you.
To ensure the transaction to appear in the correct section please ensure you add:
• The date – Double click to select a date from the date picker
• The ID – Naming your receipts or invoices allows you to add an ID number so you can easily see which transactions you have entered and recorded.
• The account – To keep track of your account balances you can select an account here. To make changes to the account, navigate to the balance dashboard
• The amount – Add the amount for the transaction
• The sales tax/VAT collected or paid – If this relates to your nature of business, you can sales tax you have collected or paid here, the spreadsheet automatically calculates the net amount.
*Please remember each countries VAT rules differ; some may require you to keep track of VAT/Sales tax collecting on your earnings. Some countries allow you claim VAT/Sales tax back on your expenses. If you are unsure about the VAT/Sales tax in your country, please contact your local financial advisory agency. *
The transactions tab is quite easy to use, the dropdown list with subcategories automatically updates itself. If you find you don’t have enough subcategories you can add them into this section.
The net amount column automatically populates, you do not need to put a figure in here.
If you enter the wrong figure in the transaction tab, DO NOT DELETE IT instead enter the correct figure and it will automatically correct itself.
Now that your spreadsheet has been set up, you know how to log a transaction, let’s move onto the overview tab.
Month Tab
The month will calculate all of the transactions you log in the log tab, all you need to do is select a month/start and end date. You can select any month/start and end date, the spreadsheet will total the transactions recorded between the dates you select. You will be able to view the total amount, the total VAT and the net amount for your income as well as your expenses.
To the left and above, you will see various graphs which show you a breakdown of your income and a breakdown of your expenses. The graphs will update and start changing as soon as you record transactions in the log tab.
You can create numerous over tabs, you can create monthly, weekly or quarterly tabs. To create a new overview tab, you need to duplicate the tab (please read the below instructions) and set your new start/end date.
How to duplicate the tab
To duplicate a tab, right click on the tab name (this is positioned at the bottom of the spreadsheet) and click duplicate. If you right click, it also allows you to rename the tab.
If needed, you can duplicate the budget tab numerous times. You’ll need to change the start and the end date for the data to load the time you require. Duplicate any other tabs isn’t necessary, you can keep using the log tab and all the other tabs.
The year tab
The year tab takes the data from the log tab and summarises it in an easy-to-read overview for you. Here you will be able to evaluate month to month income, expenses and profit, as well as see a breakdown for your subcategories and your VAT/Sales tax collected and paid per month.
The year tab automatically updates, to change the start date navigate to the start tab. The year tab will show you 12 consecutive months starting on the first of the month, of your chosen day in the start tab.
Balance Report
• You can customise your account names, these can be changed in the account dashboard. For example, ‘Account’ can be changed to ‘Business Account’. Updating it here will update the dropdown menu in your log tab.
• Add a start a balance, this allows you to have an accurate by adding it here.
For all of your income and expenses you can pick the account that the money was added to or taken from. This functionality is automatically updated for you.
• The balance category, this allows you to make adjustments to your account.
If you make a withdrawal from your business account to your personal account, you will have to adjust the balance of your business account. To do this, in the log tab add your withdrawal figure as a negative amount. For example, you transfer £200, log the transaction as -200 with the category “Balance”, subcategory “-”*and account “Business Account”.
• If you withdraw money from your business account, you will have to log two transactions. For example, if you withdraw £250, log one transaction as -250 to update the balance of your business account and log a transaction of 250 to update the balance of your cash at hand
Contact us on Etsy
Finally, you have reached the end of our instruction guide, you still require assistance please contact us via Etsy we will respond in 24 hours.
If you are experiencing issues with your spreadsheet or formulas have been deleted which is now affecting the functionality of your spreadsheet contact us on Etsy.
When sharing the issue with your spreadsheet, please do the following:
• Select the ‘share’ button, this is located in the top right corner
• In the bottom, select ‘anyone with a link’ and ‘editor’
• Select ‘copy link’ and send it to us on Etsy as a direct message providing your order number and description of the issue you are facing.
In order to investigate the issue with your spreadsheet, please allow us 24 hours to fix the issue. When your spreadsheet has been returned, change the access back to ‘restricted’ so we no longer have access to the spreadsheet
FAQ’s
Can I use my spreadsheet offline?
Google sheets allows the user to edit and access the spreadsheet offline. You can find more information regarding using and editing your Google sheet offline here.
Can I access my spreadsheet on a phone or tablet?
You can access the spreadsheet on a table or a mobile but we would recommend for better viewing and useability, using a desktop or a laptop is more suitable. If you must use your Google sheet on your phone or tablet, please download the app for Android and Apple.
Can I access my spreadsheet from multiple accounts?
If you want to share your Google sheets to other people, please follow these steps:
• Click on the big green ‘share’ button which is located at the top right of the spreadsheet
• In the bar that says ‘add people or groups’ enter in the e-mail address of the person you want to share the Google sheet with
• Select the type of access you want to provide – viewer (the person can view data but not make changes), editor – (the person can view the sheet and make changes) and owner – (the person can view, edit and grant and revoke access to other users).
Can I use my spreadsheet in Excel
Although Google sheets and Excel look similar, the functionality isn’t the same. If you transport a Google sheet document into Excel, the formulas won’t function properly therefore meaning you won’t be able to use the Google sheet spreadsheet as originally intended. We advise that you do not attempt to export the Google sheet doc into Excel because you won’t be able to use it at its highest functionality.
How do I change the colours of the spreadsheet?
The Google sheet colours are customisable and can be changed instantly, to change the colours please follow these simple steps.
• Select the paint bucket in the tool bar
• In the top right menu that opens, click on the pencil icon
• You can now change the colours and it will change the colours throughout the entire spreadsheet
