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The title slide and first slides of the Zero-Based Budget template

Zero-Based Budget

Spreadsheet template for Google Sheets and Excel

Make a copy in Google Sheets
Price
Free
Slides
5
Style
Modern
Difficulty
Beginner
Updated
November 6, 2026

Every slide (5)

Overview

The Zero-Based Budget template is for anyone who wants every dollar planned before the month starts. The Income tab records what comes in, the Plan tab assigns it to categories, and the Transactions tab logs spending against each one. The dashboard shows how much is still to assign.

It comes with sample data. Make a copy, replace the sample rows with your own, and the formulas, dropdowns and charts update on their own.

Useful for

  • Planning a month so that income and assigned amounts match
  • Tracking spending against each planned category
  • Spotting money that is still unassigned before the month starts

What's included

  • 5 tabs: Dashboard, Income, Plan, Transactions, How to use
  • Dashboard: a dashboard with 4 summary figures
  • Income: a table
  • Plan: a table
  • Transactions: a table
  • 1 chart that update as you type
  • Formulas, dropdowns and colour rules already set up
  • Sample rows that show how to fill it in

How to use it

  1. 1

    Click Make a copy in Google Sheets, then confirm on the Google page. The copy is saved to your own Google Drive.

  2. 2

    Start on the Income tab: replace the sample rows with your own.

  3. 3

    Keep the formula columns as they are; they fill in as you type.

  4. 4

    Read the How to use tab for tips. For Excel, download the .xlsx file instead.

What you need

Requirements

  • A Google account, or Microsoft Excel for the download

Works with

  • Google Sheets
  • Microsoft Excel (download the .xlsx)

Questions

Is this Zero-Based Budget template free?

Yes. The template is free to copy. Make a copy in Google Sheets, or download the Excel file and use it as you like.

Does it work in Excel?

Yes. Download the .xlsx file from this page and open it in Excel. The formulas, dropdowns and chart work the same way as in Google Sheets.

What does zero-based budgeting mean?

It means each dollar of income is given a category until the amount still to assign is zero. Savings and debt payments count as categories too.

  • #budget
  • #zero-based-budget
  • #google-sheets
  • #excel
  • #spreadsheet-template
  • #free-template

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