Maternity and Parental Leave Budget Spreadsheet

About this template

This maternity leave budget is for parents-to-be who know their leave pay rate but have not yet worked out what it means for the household. It models the pay week by week, shows how far short of normal pay each month falls, and sits on top of a full annual budget.

The pram and the cot are the easy part to plan. The harder part is income dropping sharply a few weeks in and staying low for months. This file puts that drop in numbers early enough to save for it.

Please read: This is a tracker tool only, not financial, tax, legal, medical or any other professional advice or advisory service. It records and calculates what you enter; you are solely responsible for checking all figures, rates, dates and results and for every decision you make. By purchasing, downloading or using it, you accept these terms (your statutory consumer rights are not affected).

The dashboard

Nothing on the dashboard is typed. Choose the full year or one month and the cards, weeks and blocks follow.

• Money in, with a month-by-month mini chart
• Pay, week by week: what every week of leave pays and how far short of normal pay it is
• The leave at a glance: the whole leave as one bar, from the first day to the day back
• Essentials covered: money in against needs each month, with short months in soft red, and how many months were covered
• The blocks: each block's weeks and weekly pay, and what the whole leave costs
• What the leave costs: pay lost against normal pay, adding up month by month
• Needs, wants, savings as the leave goes on, and the six biggest optional spends

Leave pay, block by block

• Each block of leave, for example weeks at 90%, then the statutory rate, then unpaid, with an employer top-up percentage on every block
• Three cells run the tab: weekly pay, the statutory rate and the month leave starts. The rate is a cell because it changes every April
• The shortfall per month and as a running total, which is the figure to save before leave begins
• Cover against your essentials each month, colored red under 1.00

A full budget underneath

Fifteen connected tabs: Start Here, Setup, Accounts, Income, Recurring, Transactions, Leave Pay, Bill Calendar, twelve monthly tabs that fill themselves from one transaction list, Annual Summary, Expense Breakdown, Sinking Funds for one-off baby costs, Savings Goals, a No-Spend tab for tight months, and the Dashboard. The worked example is a full year of leave split into four blocks, starting in April.

Light and dark editions

Every download includes a light edition and a dark mode template edition. Every tab is restyled, not just the dashboard, and both use the same formulas. Each comes filled with a worked example and blank, in Excel and in Google Sheets, so you can plan your maternity pay and baby budget in whichever look suits you. It works just as well as a parental leave pay planner for any new parent.

Works with

• Microsoft Excel 2016, 2019, 2021 and Microsoft 365, on Windows and Mac, and LibreOffice
• Google Sheets with a free Google account. The Google Sheets version is a real workbook you make your own copy of, not a PDF with a link in it.
• No dynamic arrays, no macros, no add-ins and no subscription

What you download

• Light edition: the Excel workbook filled with a worked example, and a blank one
• Dark edition: the same two files in the dark design
• The instruction guide, which has one-click links to the Google Sheets versions (light and dark, filled and blank)
• The terms of use as a PDF

Your files are ready to download as soon as payment clears. The template is for personal and business use on your own devices, so please do not share or resell the files. Questions before or after you buy? Use our contact page and we will help.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work in Excel and Google Sheets?

Yes. You download Excel workbooks for Excel 2016 or later on Windows and Mac, and the instruction guide has one-click links to make your own copy in Google Sheets with a free Google account.

Can I enter my employer's top-up?

Yes. Leave is set up in blocks, and every block has its own employer top-up percentage.

What if the statutory rate changes?

The statutory rate is a single cell on the Leave Pay tab, so you update it once and everything recalculates.

Is it only for maternity leave?

No. You set the weekly pay, the blocks and the month leave starts, so it works for parental leave too.

What is the difference between the light and dark editions?

Only the look. Both have the same tabs and formulas, and both are included in every download.