Whether you are tracking personal spending or handling someone else’s finances, you need a way to track account balances and organize cash flow over time. Download WordLayouts’ smart Excel workbook to log deposits and withdrawals across multiple accounts and automatically calculate running balances. All this without learning complex accounting software or paying any subscription charges or extra fees. Plus, your financial data is stored locally.
What is an Account Register?
An Accounts Register is a record of your financial transactions (withdrawals & deposits) across multiple accounts, such as credit cards, checking accounts, savings accounts, cash in hand, etc. It can be used by businesses as well as individuals.
Account Register – At a Glance
This template combines a transaction register with an automated account summary. You can enter the opening balance for each account and record transactions as they occur, including deposits, withdrawals, and transfers. As new entries are added, the account register template automatically updates totals and balances, giving a clear and up-to-date overview of each account.
At the top of the worksheet, the account summary section provides a snapshot of the financial status of all accounts. It displays the starting balance, total deposits, total withdrawals, and the current balance for each account. The transaction register below captures the detailed history of every financial activity, making it easy to review and manage financial records.
- Why it matters: Aids in cash management and aids in better financial decision-making
- Key technical features: Multi-account filtering. built-in drop-down menus; standard information fields; live transaction and account summary tables; pre-automated sums and subtractions using built-in mathematical formulae.
File compatibility (excel + google sheets)
For broad compatibility, this Account Register is available in multiple formats, including all modern versions of Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets for users who prefer working online. Because the file is stored in standard spreadsheet formats, it can also be used on most other cloud-based platforms that support collaborative viewing, sharing, and editing.
How to Use this Accounts Register: A Step-by-Step User Guide
If you’re new to Excel or financial management, we offer a clean user guide to help you optimally benefit from this ready-to-use Account Register. But before we dive into the details, let’s take a moment to personalize this register to your financial needs and situation.
Step 1: Identify account types
The first thing you need to do is personalize the list of accounts included by default in the Account Summary. In rows 7–14, rename accounts as needed. The summary totals are currently set up for a limited number of accounts (rows 7–14). If you add accounts beyond that, you must also copy the summary formulas down.
Individuals typically track:
- Checking
- Savings
- Emergency Fund
- Credit Card (optional, but treat it carefully)
- Cash
Businesses typically track:
- Business Checking
- Business Savings (tax reserve)
- Payment processor clearing accounts (Stripe/PayPal)
- Petty cash
- Credit card(s) used for business
Step 2: Customize transaction categories
Open the Configuration sheet to personalize transaction categories covering financial activities (or cashflow) across multiple accounts. Pick 5 to 6 categories that you actually use.
Based on these, the sheet updates the default dropdown menu (Categories – Column G). Add new categories in the cells below the existing ones in the same column.
Step 3: Enter starting balances
Go to Column C in the Account Summary Table. Add the current/starting balance of each account type identified in Step 1. For credit cards or other debt lines, set the starting balance as negative if it represents what you owe (example: -1200). The template will automatically highlight the number in red if it is a negative value.
If you are struggling with managing credit card payments, feel free to use our Credit Card Payoff Calculator to take control of credit card bill repayment.
Note that this is the only grey-collared column in the table where users must manually enter data.
The next three columns: Total Deposits, Total Withdrawals, and Net Balance, are calculated automatically by the sheet based on the transaction data you add in the second table. For your ease, values in white cells have been locked to keep their specific functionalities and formulas intact.
Step 4: Start logging transactions
The Transaction Table is the heart of this multi-account register. Each row in the table represents a cash deposit, cash withdrawal, or, in the case of credit cards, a loan repayment.
For each transaction, you must identify the following information:
- Step 1: Add the Date of the transaction. This is used for data sorting and may be used for charts if you choose to build one from scratch. Keep dates sorted: a running balance makes the most sense when transactions are in chronological order.
- Step 2: Write a Description. Identify each transaction so you know where your money is being used or spent.
- Step 3: Choose the relevant FROM ACCOUNT using a customizable drop-down menu covering all account types identified earlier. Filter the transaction table by FROM ACCOUNT to review that account’s running balance and activity.
- Step 4: Enter either a Withdrawal or a Deposit in each row. Avoid adding both in the same row, as this disturbs the functionalities and formulas built into the sheet. Note that withdrawals are shown in red to distinguish and to make outflows easier to scan during weekly or monthly reviews. For credit cards, record purchases as withdrawals (outflows) and payments as deposits (inflows) so the running balance behaves like ‘amount owed.’
- Step 5: Pick the relevant category for each transaction using the personalized drop-down in Column G.
- Step 6: The last column automatically calculated your account balance as starting balance + net transactions. Be careful not to accidentally touch or write in the balance cells, as these will break the formulas programmed into them.
Filter Transactions by Account
The template includes a data slicer that allows you to quickly filter transactions by account. This feature makes it easier to review the activity of a specific account without scrolling through the entire transaction list.
Using the slicer, you can select one or more accounts, and the transaction table will automatically update to display only the transactions related to the selected account(s), such as a checking account, savings account, or specific fund.
To use the slicer:
- Locate the account slicer in the worksheet.
- Click on the account you want to view.
- The transaction table will immediately filter and display only the transactions associated with that account.
- To view multiple accounts, select more than one option in the slicer.
- To return to the full transaction list, clear the slicer filter.
How to Handle Multiple Account Registers
What if I want separate registers for different people or businesses? The cleanest way to do this is by duplicating the whole “Account Registration” sheet.
Here’s how:
- Right-click Account Registration tab → Move or Copy.
- Tick Create a copy
- Rename as needed.
Disclaimers & Limitations
This Account Register is for tracking and record-keeping purposes only. It does not provide financial, tax, legal, or accounting advice and should not be treated as professional advice or guidance. It is not ideal for planned budgeting, forecasting, or tax reporting.
Moreover, the accuracy of outputs in the summary depends entirely on the accuracy and completeness of the information you enter. Errors or missing transactions will produce wrong balances.
To be on the safe side, verify your results against official bank statements, credit card statements, and receipts, and reconcile your financial data regularly to confirm that your records match your financial institution. Use a Bank Statement Reconciliation sheet for business or a Personal Bank Statement Reconciliation sheet to have accurate records.
If you are looking for more detailed budgeting templates, feel free to check out our new Home Expense Calculator (for households) and our standardized Project Budget template (for commercial or noncommercial organizations).
Notes for Excel Beginner
For your ease, all cells showing automatically calculated values have been locked to protect the functionalities. Don’t type over these formula cells. Also, avoid inserting or deleting single cells inside the table area; instead, insert or delete entire rows to preserve formulas.
Remember, spreadsheets can be fragile. Even if the file works perfectly when you download it, any accidental or improperly done changes to cells, formulas, or formatting can create errors. Use this template only if you’re comfortable with Excel and can spot and fix formula or input issues.
To fix broken formulas, read the official Microsoft Support guide on How to avoid broken formulas in Excel. With that said, download & enjoy!
