How It Works

A running balance shows your account balance after each transaction. This formula uses an expanding range that grows as you copy it down, adding each new transaction to the cumulative total.

Syntax

=starting_balance + SUM($C$2:C2)

starting_balance: Your account’s opening balance
$C$2:C2: An expanding range - the first reference is locked, the second moves

Example

Date	Description	Amount	Balance
	Opening Balance		$1,000
1/15	Paycheck	$2,500	$3,500
1/16	Rent	-$1,200	$2,300
1/17	Groceries	-$85	$2,215
1/18	Electric	-$120	$2,095

Formula in D3: =$D$2 + SUM($C$3:C3)

Copy down to D6, and the range automatically expands.

Setting Up Your Register

Step 1: Structure Your Data

A	B	C	D
Date	Description	Amount	Balance
	Opening		1000
1/15	Paycheck	2500	(formula)

Step 2: Enter the Formula

In D3: =$D$2 + SUM($C$3:C3)

Step 3: Copy Down

Select D3, copy, then select D4 through your last row and paste.

Variations

Income and Expenses in Separate Columns

If you have income in column C and expenses in column D:

=E2 + C3 - D3

Or cumulative: =$E$2 + SUM($C$3:C3) - SUM($D$3:D3)

With Starting Balance in a Cell

Reference a named cell for flexibility:

=StartingBalance + SUM($C$2:C2)

Running Total Only (No Starting Balance)

For tracking cumulative spending:

=SUM($C$2:C2)

Using SCAN for Dynamic Running Total

Google Sheets newer function - more elegant:

=SCAN(starting_balance, amounts, LAMBDA(acc, val, acc + val))

This spills the entire running balance column automatically.

Pro Tips

Use negative for expenses - makes the math intuitive ($100 expense = -100)
Add conditional formatting - highlight negative balances in red:
- Select balance column → Format → Conditional formatting
- “Less than” → 0 → Red background
Freeze the header row - View → Freeze → 1 row
Sort by date to keep transactions in order

Common Errors

Balance doesn’t update: Check that dollar signs ($) are in the right places
#REF! error: Usually means you deleted a row the formula references
Wrong total: Make sure income is positive and expenses are negative (or vice versa, consistently)

Reconciling with Bank Statement

Add a column to mark cleared transactions:

=SUMIF(Cleared, "Y", Amount)

Compare this to your bank’s balance to catch discrepancies.

Running Balance