Music Teacher Bookkeeping Spreadsheet

About this template

This music teacher bookkeeping spreadsheet is for the self employed teacher who also plays for money. It works as a music lesson income tracker, keeping lesson fees, exam preparation, ensembles and gig income in one ledger with music words on it, so at the end of the year you can see what each side of the work earned and what it cost.

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).

Categories written for teaching and performing

Most bookkeeping templates start with a chart of accounts meant for a shop, with lines like product sales. This one starts with the money a music teacher actually handles.

• Income lines: Lessons, Group and ensemble, Exam preparation and Performing
• Expense lines: Instruments and repair, Sheet music and licenses, Room hire, Software and subscriptions, and more
• Mileage reasons: pupil's home, studio hire, gig and school, picked from a drop-down

Reeds, strings and a servicing bill can be a teaching cost one day and a performing cost the next. Keeping the two apart is how you find out which half of the work is paying for them.

Eleven connected tabs

Start Here, Setup, Clients, Income, Expenses, Mileage, Monthly, Quarterly, Profit and Loss, Balances and Dashboard. Everything reads from the same two lists, so you type each entry once.

• 500 income rows and 500 expense rows
• A mileage log with your own reasons and the year totaled for you
• Monthly and quarterly totals, the periods tax is usually filed in
• A profit and loss built from the same income and expense lists
• 10 client records showing what each one has been worth
• Account balances, so the file knows what the business holds
• A dashboard that reads all of it

A filled example and a blank copy

You get a worked year to learn from: 266 income entries and 328 expense entries, ending at a 50.9% margin. Next to it sits a blank workbook ready for your own figures. Both come for Excel and for Google Sheets. The Start Here tab takes you through setup in a few minutes.

This is a bookkeeping spreadsheet, not an accountant. Tax rates and what you can claim are yours to set and yours to check.

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 copy, not a PDF with a link in it.
• No dynamic arrays, no macros, no add-ins and no subscription

What you download

• Two Excel workbooks: the filled example and a blank one
• The instruction guide, which has one-click links to the Google Sheets versions (filled and blank)
• The terms of use as a PDF

Your files are ready the moment payment clears. Use them for personal and business use on your own devices, and please do not share or resell them. Questions before or after you buy? Use our contact page and we will help.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Excel, or can I use Google Sheets?

Either. The download includes Excel workbooks for Excel 2016 or later on Windows and Mac, and the instruction guide has one-click links to copy the Google Sheets versions with a free Google account.

Can I keep teaching income and gig income apart?

Yes. Lessons, Group and ensemble, Exam preparation and Performing are separate income lines, so the monthly, quarterly and profit and loss totals show each one.

Does it track mileage to pupils and gigs?

Yes. The Mileage tab has a drop-down of reasons such as pupil's home, studio hire, gig and school, and it totals the year for you.

Will it work out my tax?

No. It gives you monthly and quarterly totals and a profit and loss, but tax rates and what you can claim are yours to set and check.

How many entries does it hold?

500 income rows and 500 expense rows, plus 10 client records.