Most designers and creative business owners assume tracking small business expenses is something they’ll “figure out later” — but if that were true, you wouldn’t be crossing your fingers every time tax season rolls around.
Here’s the truth: if you want your creative business to pay you, not just creatively fulfill you, you’ve got to understand how to track small business expenses — in a way that doesn’t suck your soul or require a finance degree.
This post breaks it all down for creative service providers, with examples, tools, and a totally non‑intimidating approach to organizing your money — building on what we covered in How to Forecast Sales and The Business Side of Creativity.
COGS vs Indirect Costs (and Why That Matters for Creatives)
Before we get into spreadsheets or templates, let’s talk about types of expenses — because not all money-out is the same.
🔸 COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) = Direct Costs
These are expenses that happen only because you delivered a project or product.
They include:
- Subcontractors for client work
- Fonts, licenses, or stock assets used in a specific project
- Hosting fees or printing for a client
- Your own time spent on client work (yes, project labor is part of COGS)
🔹 Indirect Costs = Everything else your biz needs to run
- Monthly software and subscriptions
- Admin tools
- Marketing platforms
- Rent, office, internet, etc.
These indirect costs are further broken down into fixed costs, operational expenses, admin labor and general & admin).
Understanding this distinction helps you price your services better, calculate gross margins, benchmark your margins with other creatives, and make budgeting easier. (We go even deeper on this in the Budget Intensive program.)
Examples of Business Expenses Spreadsheet (Creative Edition)
You don’t need fancy tools — the free Finance Organizer Template you received is all you need!
Here’s how to categorize your expenses like a pro:
🔒 Fixed Expenses
Recurring costs that don’t change month to month — you’ve gotta pay them whether you book a client or not.
| Date | Category | Description | Amount |
| 01/01/26 | Fixed Expenses | Loan Interest | $100 |
| 01/01/26 | Fixed Expenses | Co-working Space | $160 |
⚙️ Operating Expenses
The practical, behind-the-scenes costs that keep your business running day to day. These costs would change in proportion to the number of clients you have (i.e. more clients would mean more storage; more tax on income; etc).
| Date | Category | Description | Amount | |
| 01/05/26 | Operating Expenses | Google Workspace | $12 | |
| 01/08/26 | Operating Expenses | Digital Storage Fees | $35 | |
| 01/10/26 | Operating Expenses | Tax Payments | $80 |
🧑💼 Labor
Anyone you pay to help run or manage your business — including yourself. But remember – direct labor on client projects is accounted for under COGS!
| Date | Category | Description | Amount |
| 01/12/26 | Labor | Virtual Assistant Retainer | $600 |
| 01/18/26 | Labor | Contractor – Email Copywriting | $900 |
🗃 General & Admin
All the “miscellaneous but essential” costs — from marketing to education to bank fees.
| Date | Category | Description | Amount |
| 01/03/26 | G&A | Email Marketing Software | $30 |
| 01/07/26 | G&A | Office Supplies (notebook, pens) | $15 |
| 01/10/26 | G&A | Dues & Subscriptions | $20 |
| 01/17/26 | G&A | Web Design Course | $19 |
Pro Tip: Download the free Finance Organizer Template to start logging your own expenses, or grab the Budget Template for Creatives, which includes all this logic, pre-formatted for easy use.
Using this structure:
- Makes tax time easier
- Keeps your books clean
- Lets you confidently categorize every expense
- Allows you to benchmark against your previous years, budget, and other designers.
- Creates apples-to-apples tracking by month, setting you up to understand the trends behind the numbers.
Need help getting set up?
📥 Download the Finance Organizer Template
📊 Get the full Budget Template
🧠 Schedule a Budget Intensive for a guided walkthrough
How Much Does a Web Designer Make Per Website (and Why That’s Not the Right Question)
Let’s say you charge $3,000 for a website project.
You might think, “Great — I made $3K!” But first, you need to subtract the direct expenses (aka, COGS) associated with that project:
- $300 to subcontract a developer
- $200 in creative licenses and tools
- 40 hours of your time (and yes, your time is a cost too)
So, your direct costs (COGS) for delivering this project total $500. That leaves $2,500… but wait — that doesn’t go into your pocket either.
From that $2,500, you also need to cover your indirect costs — the ones that aren’t tied to just one project:
- Admin/management labor (even if it’s just you!)
- Operational Expenses
- General & Admin Expenses
- Fixed Expenses
Your $3K project needs to leave enough margin to cover your direct & indirect costs and still pay you a profit.
So how much does a web designer actually make per website? You won’t know unless you track all your expenses. When you understand how to track small business expenses, you’re not just building a prettier spreadsheet — you’re building a business model that actually works.
How to Track Business Expenses (Without Dying Inside)
The key to learning how to track small business expenses is to make it simple and repeatable.
Here’s what I recommend:
- Set up a spreadsheet using my Finance Organizer Template (or get the spreadsheet already set up for you with the full Budget Template)
- Track income and expenses weekly (10 minutes, tops)
- Categorize every expense when you log it
- Use your data to check if you’re on budget
Still feel unsure? Inside the Budget Intensive, I’ll walk you through setting all this up, live.
Bookkeeping for Creatives: You Don’t Need QuickBooks
No need to get stuck in QuickBooks hell.
Most solo or micro teams can get 90% of the benefit from:
- Google Sheets + consistent entry
- Monthly check-ins (set a calendar reminder!)
- A simple receipt folder system
- Use a Google Drive folder to store digital receipts and log them weekly in your tracker. It’s low-lift, and high-impact.
Creative Business Expenses (That Might Surprise You)
Here are a few expenses many creatives forget to track — but you absolutely should:
- Your time (yes, put a value on it)
- Owner’s draws
- Online courses or memberships
- Travel for conferences or business meetups
- Client thank-you gifts
- Content creation tools or props
These might not be monthly, but they add up fast — and they directly affect your profit margins.
So, basically…
Learning how to track small business expenses is one of the highest-leverage things you can do as a creative entrepreneur.
It’s the foundation for:
- Confident pricing
- Smarter spending
- Predictable paychecks
- Less stress when tax season hits
- A more intentional business
Whether you’re brand new or finally getting serious about your money after a few years of winging it — now’s the time.
Here’s where to go next:
- ✍️ Want help organizing your income & expenses? Download the free Finance Organizer
- 📊 Want the full system with sales + budget tracking? Grab the 2026 Budget Template
- 💬 Want personalized help building a budget that actually works? Schedule a Budget Intensive
- 📈 Need ongoing monthly support? Learn more about Ongoing Financial Support
- 📸 Want to hear me rant about these topics in real-time? Follow me on Instagram
Tracking doesn’t have to be scary — and it doesn’t have to be perfect.
It just has to be used. Let’s make it happen.
