Track Expenses in Google Forms

Are you looking for a way to track your business expenses throughout the year? This video is geared toward businesses who use the Schedule C form. This is not tax advice. It is a tutorial to make your own Expense Tracking Form in Google. If you do not use the Schedule C, the concept may still apply. It may look different and that's okay. I will show you how to automatically generate and link a spreadsheet from the form input. This allows you to generate reports that can be shared with your team and/or tax professional. Whether you are doing the current year's taxes, or want to be more organized for the future, this video is for you.
You can download your own Schedule C here:
www.irs.gov/pu...
Have your Schedule C handy.
To make your Expense Tracker in Google Forms:
1. Open Google Drive.
2. Click New and select Google Forms. I always start with a blank form.
3. Title your form Expense Tracker. Adding the title first allows it to auto-save the entire form as Expense Tracker vs Untitled Form. It will also pull this title to the spreadsheet that we will generate and link later.
4. Add a message under the title if you'd like. I add a message to myself and future team.
5. On the right, click the + sign. This will allow you to add a question. Select the dropdown option.
6. Title the dropdown question "Expense Type".
7. Add one category per line of Expense Type. This category will be pulled from the Schedule C Part II Expenses. You will include only those categories that are applicable to you and your business.
8. Once you have added all applicable categories, toggle on the required button.
If you want the ability to upload receipts or other documents, move on to step 9. If not, skip ahead to 11.
9. To capture receipts/other documents, select the + sign to add another question. This time you will select File Upload. You can limit the file size and type that can be uploaded. Or you can leave the settings as is. The File Upload requires the user to sign in. So keep that in mind.
10. You can toggle the required button on or off.
11. You have setup your form. Scroll to the top of the form and select Responses in the center.
12. Click "Link to Sheets". It will automatically pull the title from the form onto a new spreadsheet. Click Create.
13. The Responses spreadsheet will pop up. You can it as is or customize. To remove the formatting, click on the dropdown on the purple Form Responses section. Click remove formatting.
14. To customize, you can change the color fill for each column, add functions or formulas, and change the width of each column.
15. Now we will go back to the form and scroll up to Settings.
16. Click Settings and move through each section.
17. Under Settings, select the Responses dropdown. Update the settings if you would like. I generally do not require the collection of emails and toggle on form editing.
18. Move to the Presentation dropdown. Change these settings. I generally toggle on the Show Progress bar. I also add a confirmation message. I toggle on the link to submit another response.
19. Now you can customize the theme by click on the paint palette in the middle right of the form. You can change your fonts, background color, and add a header if you choose.
20. Once the form is to your liking, you can click Publish.
21. While the Publish box is still up, under Responders, click Manage. This allows you to change your settings for the link.
22. To share the form, click the link icon. Check the box to shorten the link. Now copy the link and send it to yourself via email.
23. In your email, open the link and test it out. This is helpful in finding typos and other errors. It also gives you the user experience.
I would love to see how your Expense Trackers turned out. Share them on Pinterest @craftyoasisdesigns
Visit craftyoasis.co for more inspiration.
Cheers to a smooth tax season. Thank you for watching!