Log spending as you go
The quickest expense tracker is the one you'll use at the till. Start the expense log template: a numbered list of what you spent and a Total line at the end. Type "Petrol 3,000" or "Lunch 650" as it happens; on Android, the Quick note widget opens a new note from the home screen.
Want the maths done for you? Add a table and switch on its totals row, and Memlow sums the amount column as you type.
Totals by category
The monthly budget sheet lists categories such as rent and housing, groceries, transport, bills, phone and internet, eating out, health, savings and other. For each one you type what you planned and what you spent; the sheet works out what's left and the share used. A category that goes over turns red, and the total row adds everything up.
It opens in Memlow Sheets, which has 108 functions. Add SUMIF to total a log by category, or a new column for each week.
Monthly budget sheet
At the start of the month, fill in the Planned column. As the month goes on, update Spent. The column chart puts the two side by side, so one look tells you whether eating out has run away again. Start a new tab for each month and last month stays as it was.
Prefer words to a grid? The monthly budget template is a note with income, fixed costs, spending, savings and a Left over line.
Daily expense sheet for India and Pakistan
Sheet templates show money in your own currency, picked from where your device is, so a phone in Lahore shows rupees. Numbers are read the way your language writes them.
- A shop can track the day's takings with the daily sales template, or the sales tracker sheet for totals by product.
- Friends on a trip can split costs with the split bills sheet, which works out who owes whom.
- A household can keep a bills to pay checklist, with a reminder before each due date.
What this tracker doesn't do
Memlow doesn't connect to your bank or read SMS alerts, and it doesn't sort spending for you. You type each amount. That's slower than an automatic app, and it's also why nobody else sees your figures. For tax or accounts, use proper accounting software.
