How to Create a Monthly Expense Report in Google Sheets with ChatGPT

Building a monthly expense report can feel like a chore, but it's one of the best ways to understand exactly where your money is going. Instead of wrestling with complex formulas or spending hours on manual data entry, you can use Google Sheets and ChatGPT together to create a powerful, automated report in minutes. This guide will walk you through setting up your report, using AI to generate calculations, and turning raw numbers into clear insights.

Why Use Google Sheets for Your Expense Report?

Before jumping into the "how," let's quickly cover the "why." While there are plenty of dedicated expense tracking apps, using Google Sheets offers a unique blend of flexibility, accessibility, and power you can't find elsewhere.

• It's Free and Accessible: All you need is a Google account. You can access and update your report from any browser or your phone, without paying for a subscription.

• Easy Collaboration: Need to share your expense report with a co-founder, accountant, or team member? Google Sheets makes it simple to share and edit spreadsheets in real-time.

• Complete Customization: You aren't locked into a specific layout. You control the columns, categories, and summaries, tailoring the report to your exact business needs.

• Supercharged with AI: This is where the magic happens. By pairing Sheets with a tool like ChatGPT, you eliminate the learning curve for formulas. You can just describe what you need, and the AI does the heavy lifting for you.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Google Sheet Template

First things first, you need a place to log your expenses. A well-organized template is the foundation of a good report. You can either build one from scratch for ultimate control or use a pre-made template to get started faster.

Creating Your Expense Report from Scratch

Starting with a blank sheet lets you include only what's necessary for your business. It's simpler than you think.

Open a new Google Sheet and create these essential columns in the first row:

• Date: The date the expense occurred. Setting this column's format to "Date" (under Format > Number > Date) helps with sorting and analysis later.

• Category: Assign a category to each expense. This is critical for analysis. Common business categories include Software & Subscriptions, Marketing & Advertising, Office Supplies, Travel, and Professional Development.

• Description: A brief note about what the purchase was for (e.g., "Monthly Adobe Creative Cloud subscription," "LinkedIn Ads Campaign").

• Amount: The total cost of the item. Format this column as "Currency" (Format > Number > Currency).

You might also want to add optional columns for more detail:

• Vendor: Who you paid (e.g., Amazon, Starbucks, Meta).

• Payment Method: How you paid (e.g., Corporate AMEX, PayPal, Debit).

• Receipt Attached?: A simple "Yes/No" or a link to a digital copy in Google Drive.

Using a Pre-Made Google Sheets Template

If you prefer a ready-made structure, Google's template gallery has you covered.

1. In Google Sheets, go to File > New > From template gallery.

2. Scroll down to the "Personal" or "Work" section. You'll find templates like "Monthly Budget" or "Expense Report."

3. Click on a template to create a new sheet based on it.

These templates often come with pre-built charts and summaries. Feel free to customize them by deleting columns you don't need or renaming categories to better fit your business expenses.

Step 2: Leveraging ChatGPT to Write Formulas

Now that your sheet is set up, it's time to automate the calculations. You no longer need to memorize formulas like VLOOKUP or SUMIFS. You can simply tell ChatGPT what you want to achieve, and it will give you the exact formula to copy and paste.

Getting Your First Summary: Total Expenses

Let's start with the most basic calculation: the grand total of all your expenses. Assuming your expense amounts are in Column D, open ChatGPT and use a prompt like this:

ChatGPT will likely respond with:

This formula sums every number in Column D from the second row downwards. Now, create a small dashboard or summary area on your sheet (or on a separate tab), create a cell for "Total Expenses," and paste this formula next to it.

Calculating Totals by Category

Seeing your grand total is useful, but the real power comes from breaking down spending by category. This tells you if your software subscriptions are getting out of hand or if you're spending more than expected on advertising. Here, we'll use the powerful SUMIF function without needing to learn how it works.

First, create a list of your unique expense categories in a new area. Let's say you list them in cells G2, G3, G4, and so on.

Then, ask ChatGPT for the formula:

ChatGPT will provide a formula like this:

How it works: The formula tells Google Sheets to look through all your categories in Column B. If a category matches the one in cell G2 (e.g., "Software"), it adds the corresponding amount from Column D to the total. The dollar signs ($) lock the rows and columns, so when you drag the formula down, it continues to look at your entire list of expenses while correctly referencing the next category in your summary list.

Visualizing Your Spending with Charts

A pie chart is a perfect way to visualize where your money is going at a glance. While ChatGPT can't click the buttons for you, it can give you precise, step-by-step instructions.

Once you have your totals-by-category summary, use this prompt:

ChatGPT will output a clear action plan:

1. Select your data range: Click and drag to highlight cells G2 through H6.

2. Insert the chart: Go to the menu and click Insert > Chart.

3. Choose the chart type: Google Sheets will likely suggest a pie chart by default. If not, find the "Chart type" dropdown in the Chart editor on the right and select "Pie chart."

You now have a clean, insightful chart that automatically updates as you add more expenses to your log.

Step 3: Populating and Analyzing Your Report

With an automated report built, the final step is to put it to use. This involves consistently logging your expenses and, more importantly, using the insights to make better financial decisions.

Maintaining Your Expense Log

A report is only as good as the data you put into it. Set aside five minutes at the end of each day or week to add any new expenses. The key is consistency. If you let it pile up, it becomes a daunting task. Use the Google Sheets mobile app to log expenses on the go so you don't forget them.

Asking the Right Questions

Your automated summary and chart are the starting point for analysis. Now you can move beyond simply tracking expenses to actively managing them. Look at your report and ask critical questions:

• Which category accounts for the largest portion of my spending? Was this expected?

• How does this month's spending compare to last month's?

• Are there any subscriptions I'm paying for but not using?

• Is my return on investment for advertising spend looking healthy?

This process transforms your expense sheet from a static document into a dynamic tool that informs your business strategy.

Quick Tips for Prompting ChatGPT for Sheets

To get the best results from ChatGPT, be as clear as possible. The better your prompt, the better your formula.

• Be Specific: Always mention the exact columns and cells. Instead of "my money column," say "Column D, which is formatted as 'Amount'."

• State Your Goal Clearly: Begin your prompt with what you want to achieve. "I want to calculate..." or "Give me a formula that finds..."

• Provide Context: Explain what the columns represent. "Column A is 'Date', Column B is 'Category', Column D is 'Amount'."

• Iterate and Refine: If the first formula doesn't work perfectly, don’t give up. Describe the error you're getting and ask ChatGPT to fix it. For example, "That formula returned a #VALUE! error. Can you provide an alternative?"

Final Thoughts

Creating a monthly expense report in Google Sheets is no longer a slow, manual process. By pairing a simple spreadsheet with ChatGPT's ability to generate formulas on demand, you can build a powerful and customized dashboard for tracking your business finances. This method not only saves you time but also empowers you to make smarter, data-driven decisions without a steep learning curve.

While this workflow is a massive step up from manual calculation, gathering and logging data from a dozen different sources is still a chore. At Graphed , we help you automate the next step. Instead of manually entering expenses from Stripe, QuickBooks, or your ad platforms, we connect directly to those data sources. You can use simple, natural language to instantly create real-time dashboards that show you not just your expenses, but your full business picture - all without touching a single CSV file.