Free Sole Trader Bookkeeping Spreadsheet Template (2026)

Quick answer

A sole trader bookkeeping spreadsheet needs four things: an income log, an expense log (matching HMRC categories), a mileage log, and a summary tab. Spend 15 minutes a week logging transactions and you’re HMRC-compliant. This free template is laid out to map directly to your Self Assessment return. When your business grows past 20–30 transactions a month, switch to accounting software — it’s faster and handles Making Tax Digital for you.

If you’re not ready for accounting software yet — or your business is small enough that a spreadsheet does the job — here’s a free template designed specifically for UK sole traders, laid out to match HMRC’s Self Assessment categories. This is part of our accounting software and bookkeeping guide.

What the template includes

The spreadsheet has four tabs:

1. Income Log

Track every payment you receive.

Columns explained:

• Date — when you received the payment (not when you invoiced)
• Client/Source — who paid you
• Invoice # — your invoice reference, if applicable
• Amount — the gross amount received (before any platform fees)
• Payment Method — bank transfer, cash, PayPal, platform payment
• Status — Paid / Awaiting / Overdue (helps you chase late payers)

2. Expense Log

Track every business purchase, categorised to match your Self Assessment.

Categories match HMRC Self Assessment boxes:

• Cost of goods sold
• Car, van and travel
• Rent, rates, power, insurance
• Repairs and maintenance
• Phone, stationery, office costs
• Advertising and marketing
• Professional fees (accountant, legal)
• Bank and financial charges
• Use of home as office
• Other business expenses

The Receipt? column tracks whether you have evidence: digital receipt, photographed paper receipt, or bank statement. This matters if HMRC ever asks — see our record-keeping guide for what counts.

3. Mileage Log

If you use your personal car for business and claim the HMRC mileage rate (45p/mile for the first 10,000 miles, 25p/mile after that):

You must log each trip individually. “Roughly 200 miles this month” won’t hold up with HMRC. Record the date, destination, purpose, and mileage for every business journey. More detail in our expenses guide.

4. Summary (auto-calculated)

A yearly overview that pulls totals from the other tabs:

• Total income for the tax year
• Total expenses by category
• Net profit (income minus expenses)
• Estimated tax at basic rate (20% on profit above personal allowance)
• Estimated National Insurance (Class 2 + Class 4)
• Total estimated tax bill

This summary maps directly to the self-employment pages of your Self Assessment tax return. When filing time comes, you transfer these numbers across — or hand them to your accountant if you use one.

How to use it

Weekly routine (15 minutes):

1. Open the spreadsheet
2. Log any income received this week
3. Log any business expenses
4. Log any business mileage
5. Note whether you have receipts for each expense

Monthly check (10 minutes):

1. Compare your expense log against your business bank account statement
2. Flag any transactions you missed
3. Check the Summary tab for a running profit and tax estimate

Year-end (1–2 hours):

1. Make sure every transaction for the tax year is logged
2. Double-check your expense categories
3. Review the Summary tab numbers
4. Transfer to your Self Assessment return (or hand to your accountant / filing tool like GoSimpleTax)

When to upgrade to software

A spreadsheet works, but it has limits. Consider switching to proper accounting software when:

• Your transaction volume grows. If you’re logging more than 20–30 transactions per month, manual entry becomes tedious and error-prone.
• You want bank feeds. Software connects to your bank and imports transactions automatically. This eliminates the biggest time sink in manual bookkeeping.
• Making Tax Digital applies to you. If your income exceeds the MTD threshold (£50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 from April 2027), you must use MTD-compatible software for quarterly submissions. Spreadsheets aren’t accepted.
• You want automatic tax filing. FreeAgent and QuickBooks file your Self Assessment directly to HMRC. A spreadsheet means you still need to manually transfer numbers to HMRC’s site (or use a filing tool like GoSimpleTax).
• You’re making mistakes. If you’ve miscategorised expenses, missed deductions, or found errors at year-end, software catches these in real time.

For most sole traders earning over a few thousand pounds, the time saved by software pays for itself within the first month. FreeAgent is free if you bank with Mettle or NatWest. GoSimpleTax is £41/year if you only need filing help. The investment is minimal compared to the hours you’ll save.

Downloading the template

[Template download will be available when the site launches. The spreadsheet will be a Google Sheets template and downloadable Excel file, pre-formatted with the tabs and categories described above.]

In the meantime, you can create your own using the column layouts above — copy them into Google Sheets or Excel and you’re ready to go.

Next step

1. Set up the spreadsheet using the structure above (or download when available)
2. Log your first week’s transactions — start the habit now, don’t wait until you have “enough” to track
3. When you outgrow it, switch to accounting software — FreeAgent (free via Mettle), QuickBooks, or Xero. All can import your spreadsheet data so nothing is lost.
4. Keep receipts digitally — photograph every paper receipt the day you get it. They fade. Full record-keeping guide

Last updated: March 2026. Tax rates and allowances are for the 2025/26 tax year.