How to track freelancer expenses without a spreadsheet

The spreadsheet is every freelancer's default tool for expenses. It is also the first one they abandon.

Why the spreadsheet doesn't work

In theory it is simple: one row per expense, columns for supplier, date, base, VAT, total. In practice:

• You have to fill in every field manually
• The receipt photos are somewhere else (in a folder nobody organizes)
• You forget to update it after each purchase
• By the end of the quarter it is a mess of incomplete rows

The problem is not the spreadsheet. It is that it requires constant discipline, and that competes with your actual work.

The alternative

What you need is something that fills itself in. You take the photo and the rest happens automatically: supplier, tax ID, base, VAT, total, category. All extracted from the image.

SinTrámite does exactly that. The photo is your only step. When it is time to file, you tap export and your accountant receives a perfect Excel: the same format you used to make by hand, but without the work. See the full breakdown in SinTrámite vs Excel.

What you gain

• No manual data entry
• No spreadsheet to maintain
• No linking photos to rows
• No losing receipts between quarters
• The Excel your accountant receives is better than what you would make yourself

Who this is for

If your accountant expects a categorized Excel with linked photos, an expense app for autónomos like SinTrámite is the fastest way to give it to them. Without ever opening a spreadsheet. If you want the exact columns that Excel should have, we cover it in what your expense Excel should include for your accountant.