Free Project Budget Spreadsheet Template for Google Sheets & Excel
Fourteen cost lines, each with what you budgeted and what it actually came to, and a difference column reading budgeted less actual so a positive number means under. The Free Project Budget spreadsheet template keeps internal and contractor labour as separate lines and leaves the contingency figure for you to set. One working sheet, Google Sheets or Excel. No macros, no VBA.
The FinancialAha Free Project Budget Spreadsheet Template is a one-sheet workbook for Google Sheets and Excel, with a How to Use guide on a second tab. It works as a Free Project Budget Excel template and a Free Project Budget Google Sheets template from the same download. A line per cost, each with what you budgeted and what it actually came to, and the gap between them worked out. No macros, no VBA.
Inside the workbook
What's inside the FinancialAha Free Project Budget spreadsheet template
The FinancialAha Free Project Budget Spreadsheet Template runs on a single working sheet, with the instructions on a tab of their own. It works in both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets and here is what the Free Project Budget spreadsheet holds.
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Project Budget
A line per cost, each with a budgeted figure and an actual one, and the difference between them - totalled at the foot and again on the strip at the top.
The sample lines split labour in two: internal and contractor. That split is worth keeping. Internal time is a cost the project carries but the business was paying anyway; contractor time is money that leaves. A project that is on budget overall and over on contractors has a different problem from one that is over on internal hours.
Everything on the sheet is a cost, so the Difference column reads as budgeted less actual and a positive number means the line came in under.
The contingency line is a row like any other. Nothing computes it, because what a project should hold back depends on the project.
Project Budget
Included guide
How to Use
A step-by-step guide on its own tab, covering how to replace the sample values, where the spare rows sit, and how to change the currency. Because it ships inside the file, the instructions travel with the template wherever it is opened.
Works in both Google Sheets and Excel
Free Project Budget Spreadsheet template for Google Sheets
Upload the Free Project Budget Spreadsheet Template to Drive, right-click it, and choose "Open with Google Sheets". This Free Project Budget Google Sheets template needs no conversion step and the totals recalculate exactly as they do in Excel.
Free Project Budget Google Sheets template setup
A shared copy of the Free Project Budget Google Sheets template suits a project where one person owns the plan and others report against it, since the budgeted column stays put while the actual column fills in.
Running the Free Project Budget Google Sheet
The Free Project Budget Google Sheet is set once and updated as costs land. Nothing in it depends on how often you update it - the totals read whatever is in the cells.
Free Project Budget Spreadsheet template for Excel
The Free Project Budget spreadsheet Excel download is a plain .xlsx. Excel opens this Free Project Budget Excel template directly, with no import step and no compatibility prompt. There are no macros and no VBA in the file.
Free Project Budget Excel template setup
The same Free Project Budget Excel template opens in Excel on Windows, Excel on Mac, and Excel for the web. It is also the identical file you would upload to Drive, so there is no separate Free Project Budget spreadsheet download to choose between.
Free Project Budget spreadsheet Excel notes
The Free Project Budget spreadsheet Excel file carries no macros and no VBA, so Excel opens it without a trust prompt.
Opening the Free Project Budget spreadsheet Excel file
Nothing in the Free Project Budget Excel template is version-specific, so this Free Project Budget spreadsheet Excel workbook behaves identically in Excel on Windows, Excel on Mac, and older builds.
30 across five sections, five to seven per section
Grouped into sections
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Labour, materials, travel, software, other
Subtotal per section
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Yes
Per-cent-used per line
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Yes
Blank rows stay blank
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Yes
Charts
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2
The FinancialAha Free Project Budget Spreadsheet Template lists the project's costs, budgeted against actual, on one page. The Essentials Project Budget Spreadsheet Template for Google Sheets and Excel groups them into labour, materials, travel, software and other, subtotals each group, adds a per-cent-used figure per line, and carries a dashboard with two charts.
Notes on working in the Free Project Budget spreadsheet template
The Difference column is budgeted less actual, so a positive number means the line came in under.
Everything on this sheet is a cost, which is what makes that direction the right one.
The headline difference reads budget less actual across the whole project, on the same convention as the lines.
Grouping into sections with a subtotal each, and a per-cent-used column, start at the Essentials build.
The dropdown beside the title relabels the money columns. It changes the label and nothing else.
How the Project Budget template works
The Free Project Budget Spreadsheet Template puts a project on one page. A line per cost, each with a budgeted figure and an actual one, and the difference between them - totalled at the foot and again on the strip at the top. The sample lines split labour into internal and contractor, which is the split worth keeping: internal time is a cost the business was carrying anyway, and contractor time is money that leaves.
When this template helps
01
You are running a project and need the plan and the spend in one place.
02
You want internal time and contractor spend visible separately.
03
You report to someone who asks which lines went over rather than by how much in total.
04
You prefer a spreadsheet you control over project software you rent.
Tips to get the most out of it
Splitting labour into internal and contractor separates a cost the business was carrying anyway from money leaving the door.
The contingency line is an input like any other. What a project holds back is the project's call, not the template's.
Reading the difference column line by line says more than the headline, since two lines moving opposite ways net out to nothing.
Common mistakes to avoid
Reading the total and not the lines. A project on budget overall can be two mistakes cancelling.
Revising the budgeted column when a line goes over, which leaves nothing to compare against.
Recording contractor spend when it is invoiced rather than when it is committed.
Leaving the contingency line at zero because nothing has gone wrong yet.
How to Use the Free Project Budget Spreadsheet Template
1
List the costs
Name the lines the way the project plan names them.
2
Budget each one
What is allowed for it, before the work starts.
3
Fill in actuals
As costs land. The difference column follows.
4
Read the total
Budgeted against actual, at the foot and at the top.
Every template starts with deep research into how people actually track the topic. We design the layout, build the formulas, and polish the design until it feels like something we would use ourselves. Along the way, we use AI to stress-test the calculations: unusual inputs, edge cases, and formula behavior, checked until the numbers hold.
Excel
Sheets
Privacy by default
Your numbers stay in your own file
Formula-driven
All calculations update automatically
Dual compatible
Works in Excel and Google Sheets
Sample data included
See the template in action right away
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the free and Essentials Free Project Budget spreadsheet template?
Free is a single-sheet starter template with sample data and a How to Use guide. Essentials ($19) is the fuller build, with more worked out for you rather than typed. This template has no Ultimate build. What each tier holds differs by template - the comparison table on every template page lists it exactly.
Which Free Project Budget spreadsheet template should I download?
Essentials is the fuller build of this template for ongoing use, and the comparison table on this page lists exactly what it adds. The Free version is a good fit for one-off planning or trying out the layout.
Can I upgrade the Free Project Budget spreadsheet template later?
Yes. Essentials is a one-time $19 purchase with no subscription. What it adds depends on the template: some builds gain capacity and a dashboard, others richer detail in the same layout. The comparison table on this page lists the differences exactly.
Is the FinancialAha Free Project Budget Spreadsheet Template a Google Sheets template?
Yes. Upload the file to Drive and choose "Open with Google Sheets". Nothing needs rewriting in the Free Project Budget Google Sheets template, and the totals recalculate exactly as they do in Excel.
Is the FinancialAha Free Project Budget Spreadsheet Template an Excel template?
Yes. The download is a plain .xlsx, so the Free Project Budget Excel template opens directly in Excel with no import step. There are no macros and no VBA in the file.
Will the FinancialAha Free Project Budget spreadsheet Excel file open in older versions of Excel?
Yes. The Free Project Budget spreadsheet Excel workbook ships as a plain .xlsx, so it opens identically in current Excel and in builds that predate dynamic arrays.
Why are internal and contractor labour separate lines in the Free Project Budget spreadsheet?
Because they are different kinds of cost. Internal time is money the business was spending anyway; contractor time leaves the door. A project over on one has a different problem from a project over on the other.
How is the contingency line worked out in the Free Project Budget spreadsheet?
It is not. It is an input like every other line, because what a project holds back depends on the project rather than on a rule.
Which way round is the difference column in the Free Project Budget spreadsheet?
Budgeted less actual, so a positive number means the line came in under. Every value on this sheet is a cost, which is what makes that direction the right one here.
Can I group the costs into sections in the Free Project Budget spreadsheet?
Not on this build. Labour, materials, travel, software and other, each with its own subtotal and a per-cent-used figure per line, are on the Essentials build.
Can I add cost lines to the FinancialAha Free Project Budget spreadsheet?
Right-click a row inside the table and choose Insert - the totals expand to include it. The Essentials build groups the costs into five named sections, each with its own lines and subtotal.
How do I open the Free Project Budget spreadsheet template in Google Sheets?
Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive, then open it with Google Sheets. All formulas and formatting will be preserved.
Can I use the Free Project Budget spreadsheet template for commercial work?
All free templates are released under CC BY 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution). You can use, modify, and share them freely - including for commercial purposes - as long as you credit FinancialAha.com. They are provided as-is and do not constitute financial advice.
