Short answer
- Few transactions, one account, no installments: Excel or Google Sheets is enough.
- Several cards, installments and loans: an app that spreads installments over months.
- Tracking is usually dropped because entries get postponed, not because of the tool.
- Whatever you choose, make sure you can export your data.
Why tracking starts, and why it stops
People usually start tracking income and expenses after a trigger: a surprising card statement, salary running out mid-month, a savings goal. The first week entries are made with enthusiasm. By week three they start piling up, and by week four the table no longer matches reality and is dropped.
The reason is rarely laziness. It is usually one of these:
- Entry is a hassle: If you need to open a computer to log a purchase, logging gets postponed.
- Installment and card confusion: Is the card payment the expense, or the purchase? Which month does an installment go in?
- No visible payoff: Data is collected but there is no report, chart or budget comparison.
The right tool is the one that reduces these three problems.
Tracking with a spreadsheet: when is it enough?
Excel and Google Sheets are free, can be shaped however you like and keep your data entirely in your hands. They are enough when:
- You use one bank account and one card.
- You have no or very few installment purchases and loans.
- You make fewer than 50 transactions a month.
- You are comfortable with formulas.
To start from a ready layout, download our free monthly budget template with formulas already set up. For transaction-level records see the income and expense table guide.
Tracking with a budgeting app: what changes?
| Need | Excel / Sheets | Budgeting app |
|---|---|---|
| Instant entry on the phone | Possible but fiddly | A core feature |
| Account balances | By formula, by hand | Automatic with every entry |
| Installment purchases | A separate row for each month | Enter the count, it spreads over months |
| Loan tracking | Payment plan by hand | Remaining principal and installments ready |
| Monthly reports and charts | You build them | Ready |
| Seeing due dates | Manual notes | In a financial calendar |
| Cost | Free | Usually paid, with a trial |
| Flexibility | Unlimited | As much as the app offers |
Scenario 1: Student, one account
Income from a grant and allowance, no card, few transactions. Suggestion: Google Sheets with a phone shortcut. No cost and enough to build the habit.
Scenario 2: Employee, two cards and installments
Salary, two credit cards, phone and appliance installments, a personal loan. Suggestion: A budgeting app. Installments spread across months and card due dates shown in a calendar save hours of spreadsheet work.
Scenario 3: Family, shared and personal spending
Two salaries, a joint account, children's costs. Suggestion: An app with tags and categories that shows several accounts in one dashboard. More in our family budget guide.
Try butce.app free for 14 days; if it is not for you, export your data to Excel and carry on with a spreadsheet.
Try FreeChecklist for choosing software
- Language and currency format: Are thousands separators, decimals and dates right for you?
- Installment support: Does it spread purchases across months when you enter the number of installments?
- Multiple accounts and cards: Can you track cash, bank, card and foreign currency accounts separately?
- Reports: Is there a monthly category report and budget comparison?
- Data security: Where and how is your data stored, and is there a privacy notice?
- Export: Can you take your data out as Excel?
- Trial: Can you try it with your real data before deciding?
Options are compared in our best budget app 2026 article.
How butce.app works
butce.app is income and expense tracking software designed for Turkey, running in the browser and as an Android app. It records income and expenses by category, tag and account; spreads card purchases across months when you enter the number of installments; tracks loans with a payment plan and shows every payment in the financial calendar. You can import bank statements (PDF, CSV, Excel) with AI Statements and read receipts with AI Receipt Scanning. After the 14-day trial you continue on a ₺69 monthly or ₺690 yearly plan.
Frequently asked questions
Is there free income and expense tracking software?
You can track for free with Excel or Google Sheets; starting from a ready template makes it easier. Most budgeting apps are paid but offer a trial; butce.app opens every feature for 14 days without asking for card details.
Is Excel enough for tracking income and expenses?
It is enough with one bank account, no installment purchases and a few dozen transactions a month. Once card installments, several accounts and loans come in, copying installments to each month by hand and keeping balances with formulas gets difficult.
What features should tracking software have?
The basics: entries with categories and tags, several accounts and cards, automatic balances, monthly reports and budget limits. In Turkey, spreading installments across months, loan tracking and amounts shown in TRY format also matter.
Can I move my data from one program to another?
Yes, with programs that offer Excel export and import. butce.app exports all income, expense, installment and loan data to Excel and supports bulk import from a template.
Sources
butce.app Editör Ekibi
This guide was written by the team behind butce.app, a budgeting app for tracking income, expenses, card installments and loans. Figures were checked against the official sources listed above; the article was last reviewed on .
This content is general information, not investment, tax or legal advice. Rates change, so check the official source before you decide.
