Free Budget Vs Actual Dashboard Spreadsheet (Excel)
What this is
An Excel dashboard comparing budgeted spending against actual spending, with variance formulas and plain-language notes. For freelancers managing monthly business costs.
Free in full — download it and use it on your own freelance work.
User manual
- Enter each spending category with its monthly budget.
- Enter what you actually spent in the Actual column.
- Read the Variance column, calculated as budget minus actual.
- Read the Note column, which flags over, under or on budget automatically.
- Review the totals row to see your overall position for the month.
Requirements
Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc.
Download details
Format: XLSX
What is inside: Instructions sheet, Dashboard sheet with budget, actual, variance, percentage and automatic notes.
Download free — budget-vs-actual-dashboard.xlsx (5.7 KB)
- README.txt — 856 B
- budget-vs-actual-dashboard.xlsx — 5.7 KB
Questions
What does a negative variance mean?
A negative variance means you spent more than budgeted in that category, and the note flags it as over budget.
Can I add categories?
Yes. Insert a row above the totals row and copy the variance and note formulas down.