7 Best Free Accounting Software in Excel

Best Free Accounting Software in Excel (Full Expanded Guide)

Managing finances doesn’t always require expensive software. With the right Excel templates, you can build your own free accounting software in Excel that tracks income, expenses, profit, invoices, ledgers, cash flow, and more. These ready-made templates behave like mini accounting tools—perfect for freelancers, students, small business owners, shopkeepers, side hustlers, and anyone who wants to avoid paying monthly fees.

Below is the comprehensive list of the best free Excel accounting templates, including download links and detailed explanations of what each template offers.

1. Microsoft Excel Free Accounting Templates

Download: https://templates.office.com

Microsoft provides some of the most trusted and beginner-friendly free accounting templates you can use directly inside Excel. These templates adhere to standard accounting structures, ensuring they are reliable for accurate bookkeeping. Whether you want to create a ledger, track income and expenses, manage cash flow, or generate a balance sheet, Microsoft has everything preformatted. You simply enter your data, and Excel handles the formulas automatically.

• Income & Expense template

• Profit & Loss statement

• Balance Sheet

• Cash Flow Statement

• General Ledger

• Invoice and Billing format

• Official Microsoft quality

• Very stable formulas

• Easy for beginners

• Works on Windows, Mac, and Excel Online

• Minimal automation

• Not suited for complex businesses

2. Vencru Free Excel Accounting System

Download: https://vencru.com/accounting-templates/

Vencru provides one of the closest Excel systems to real accounting software. It includes multiple connected templates that act like modules inside a small financial system. It's ideal for small businesses, boutiques, service providers, and freelancers who want professional bookkeeping without buying expensive tools like QuickBooks.

• Sales Tracker

• Accounts Receivable template

• Accounts Payable template

• Cashbook system

• Profit & Loss generator

• Balance Sheet

• Expense Tracker

• Acts like a full accounting software

• Modern layout and formulas

• Suitable for small shops and service businesses

• Easy to customize

• Still manual

• Requires some basic Excel skills

3. Smartsheet Excel Accounting Templates

Download: https://www.smartsheet.com/top-excel-accounting-templates

Smartsheet offers professional-grade Excel templates that follow real corporate accounting formats. These templates are ideal for those who want structured bookkeeping that matches standards used in real offices, including journal entries and reconciliation sheets. Though designed for Smartsheet, all templates work perfectly with Excel.

• Journal Entry Sheet

• Profit & Loss template

• Balance Sheet

• Cash Flow Tracker

• Accounts Receivable & Payable

• Budget Planner

• Great for learning professional accounting

• Clean structure

• Helps maintain proper financial statements

• It can feel overwhelming for beginners

• Not all templates are visually simple

4. PivotXL Free Accounting Templates

Download: https://pivotxl.com/free-excel-templates-for-accounting-finance/

PivotXL specializes in enterprise-style Excel dashboards. Their accounting templates include automated reports, pivot tables, charts, and clean dashboards — making them perfect for business owners who want visually clear financial statements. This is the best option if you want Excel to feel like a real dashboard-based software.

• Trial Balance

• Automated Profit & Loss

• Cash Flow Dashboard

• Monthly Budget Sheet

• Bank Reconciliation Template

• Sales Dashboard

• Visually beautiful dashboards

• Excellent automation

• Great for small to medium businesses

• Takes time to understand pivot tables

• Requires intermediate Excel knowledge

5. Sourcetable Simple Accounting Template

Download: https://sourcetable.com/excel-templates/simple-accounting

This template is perfect for beginners or freelancers who don’t need a complex accounting system. It focuses on simplicity and helps you track income and expenses without complex formulas or accounting jargon. If you run a small service business or work as a freelancer, this is the easiest template.

• Income Tracker

• Expense Tracker

• Monthly Breakdown

• Yearly Summary

• Auto-calculated Profit

• Very easy to use

• Beginner-friendly

• No advanced accounting knowledge required

• Not suitable for multi-branch or high-volume business

6. ExcelDemy Free Accounting Templates

Download: https://www.exceldemy.com/excel-templates/accounting/

ExcelDemy offers a massive collection of specialized templates. You can pick exactly what you need—cashbook, ledger, reconciliation, accounts payable, etc. This is ideal if you want to build a custom accounting system using multiple Excel files.

• Cashbook

• Ledger Sheet

• Bank Reconciliation

• Accounts Payable

• Accounts Receivable

• Expense Tracker

• Chart of Accounts

• Many templates

• Practical for custom setups

• Good for accounting students

• Some templates require formula editing

• Quality varies depending on the file

7. Template.net Free Excel Accounting Sheets

Download: https://www.template.net/accounting/excel

Template.net provides simple but effective accounting spreadsheets for small business bookkeeping. These templates are clean and beginner-friendly, making them good for small shops, freelancers, or students creating financial assignments.

• Expense Report

• Cash Receipts Journal

• Cash Disbursement Journal

• Profit & Loss

• Simple Bookkeeping Sheet

• Huge collection

• Simple formatting

• Easy to customize

• Some templates are too basic

• Not a complete accounting system

Why Excel Works as Free Accounting Software

• No subscription fees

• Easy to customize

• Works offline

• Fits all types of small businesses

• You control 100% of your data

• Manual entry leads to mistakes

• No automatic bank sync

• Not suitable for scaling

• Requires backups

 Who Should Use Excel as Accounting Software?

• Small shop/boutique owners

• Freelancers (designers, writers, service providers)

• Students learning accounting

• Home businesses and online sellers

• Early-stage startups

• Side hustlers

 FAQs: Free Excel Accounting Software

Yes, for small businesses and freelancers, Excel can completely replace paid tools.

Yes, every template listed above is completely free to download.

Vencru and PivotXL provide the closest experience to full accounting software.

Yes, as long as you maintain backups and organize sheets properly.

Yes, if you use Excel Android/iOS, but editing may be limited.

Using free accounting software in Excel is one of the smartest ways to manage your finances without spending money on paid tools. The templates listed above — from Microsoft, Vencru, PivotXL, Smartsheet, and more — give you everything from basic expense tracking to full accounting systems. Whether you’re a freelancer, shop owner, student, or startup, these Excel templates help you manage your financial data professionally at zero cost.