Every treasurer starts the same way: a blank spreadsheet, a column for names, a column for amounts. By November it has eleven columns, three colour codes and one person who understands it. Here is a structure that stays readable to the end of the year — and an option that skips the spreadsheet entirely.
A ready file with formulas: the budget works out the per-child contribution, the payment log tracks who paid, the summary shows the balance and drafts a chat report. Includes a printable sheet with signature columns. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice — free, no sign-up.
Sheet 1 — Budget
| Category | Planned | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Stationery and consumables | 8 000 | Paper, folders, markers |
| Gifts for children | 12 000 | Birthdays and New Year |
| Celebrations and tea parties | 6 000 | Four events per year |
| Flowers and teacher gifts | 5 000 | Sept 1, Teacher Day, last bell |
| Trips | 9 000 | Two excursions |
| Total | 40 000 | Divided by 20 children = 2 000 each |
The point of this sheet is that the contribution amount is derived, not announced. A number that came out of a published budget is very rarely challenged in the chat.
Sheet 2 — Contributions
Columns: date, child’s name, amount, method (transfer, cash or collection link), note. One row per payment, not per person — partial payments are normal and merging them hides information. The downloadable template adds a Children sheet that sums each family’s payments and shows what is still due.
Sheet 3 — Expenses
Columns: date, item, budget category, amount, who paid, receipt (yes/no or a link to the photo). The category is what lets the Budget sheet show actual spending next to the plan. The receipt column is the one people skip and the one that matters: an expense without a receipt is the thing you will be asked about in May.
The alternative: skip the spreadsheet
A spreadsheet has two structural problems. Only the treasurer sees it, and it never contains the receipts — those live in the chat and get lost. Running the fund in ДелиБабки inverts both: parents open one link with no registration, every purchase carries its receipt photo, and the Analytics tab shows totals by category and by payer at any moment.
When the report is due, the Excel export gives you a workbook with two sheets — Expenses (date, description, who paid, amount, participants, and a share column per participant) and Balances (paid, owed, net per person, plus the recommended transfers). That is the report you were going to build by hand.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I download a ready-made parent committee spreadsheet?
This page offers two free .xlsx templates — one for a school class and one for a kindergarten group. The formulas are already in place: the budget divides the plan by the number of children, the Children sheet adds up each family’s payments and shows what is still due, and the Summary sheet works out collected, spent and balance and drafts a short chat report. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice, no sign-up.
What sheets should a parent committee spreadsheet contain?
Three: Budget (planned spending by category), Contributions (who paid how much and when), Expenses (actual purchases with receipts). The remaining balance is one formula — total contributions minus total expenses.
Should you publish the list of who has paid?
Publish what has been contributed and spent. Do not publish a list of people who have not paid — it reads as public shaming. Follow up with individuals privately instead.
How do you hand the spreadsheet over to the next committee?
Hand over access and history rather than a file. In a shared expense group that means passing on the link and PIN; the whole history stays in place and the annual report exports to Excel in one click.
Let the report build itself
Log contributions and purchases in a shared group all year, then export both sheets to Excel when the meeting comes.
Create an expense group