Excel or Google Sheets for freelancer finances? What actually differs
For a freelancer's books, either works. The choice comes down to where you want the file to live and who else needs to see it.
What works the same in both
The formulas a freelance finance workbook needs are standard in both: SUMIFS, SUM, AVERAGE, MIN/MAX, IF, INDEX/MATCH, TODAY, EDATE and DATE. Dropdown lists (data validation), conditional formatting and frozen header rows exist in both too. So the layouts in our guides to the tracker, invoice log and P&L carry over.
Where they differ in practice
- Where the file lives. Excel files are normally local or in a cloud drive you sync; Google Sheets lives in your Google account and opens in a browser.
- Sharing. Sheets is easier for letting a bookkeeper view the same live file. With Excel you send a copy or share through your cloud drive.
- Large files. Very large workbooks with thousands of formula rows tend to feel faster in desktop Excel; a year of one person's transactions is small enough for either.
- Offline. Desktop Excel works fully offline; Sheets needs setup for offline use.
- Newer functions. Each product has functions the other lacks or names differently, so if you borrow a formula from a forum, check it exists in your app.
- Cost and accounts. Sheets needs a Google account; Excel desktop needs a licence or Microsoft 365 subscription, though the browser version is free with a Microsoft account.
Moving a workbook from Excel to Sheets
- In Google Sheets choose File > Import > Upload and pick the .xlsx.
- Choose Replace spreadsheet or Insert new sheet(s).
- Check the formulas with the example data: totals should match the original. Look at dropdowns, number formats and any date columns first, because those are what usually change.
Going back the other way, File > Download > Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) works the same.
A simple way to choose
If you work alone and want one file you control, Excel is fine. If a bookkeeper or partner needs to see it live, use Sheets. Either way, keep a dated backup copy once a month.
More freelancer finance guides
- Freelance expense categories for a spreadsheet: a starter list that stays short
- How to build a freelance income and expense tracker in a spreadsheet
- A simple 12-month cash flow forecast for freelancers
- Freelancer profit and loss (P&L) in a spreadsheet: a one-page layout
- Freelancer runway: three spreadsheet formulas for how long your cash lasts
- Freelancer tax set-aside: what goes into the number, and how to track it
- Invoice tracker spreadsheet: formulas for paid, due and overdue
- Budgeting on irregular freelance income: the baseline-pay method
- How to track freelance income by client in a spreadsheet
Our kit
The Freelancer Finance Spreadsheet Kit is delivered as an Excel (.xlsx) file. It opens in Excel and can be imported into Google Sheets via File > Import; we build and test in Excel format, so check the example data after importing. $29, one-time.
Free: the Tax Set-Aside tab as a standalone Excel file
One working tab: type your quarterly income, expenses and the rate you choose, and it shows what is still to put aside. Confirm your email and the file arrives right away, plus an occasional note (at most one a week) on tracking freelance money. Unsubscribe in one click. Privacy.
General information about spreadsheet software, not financial, tax or accounting advice. Product features change; check each vendor's current documentation.