When the COVID-19 pandemic plunged small businesses across the U.S. into crises, many business owners sought relief from government loan programs. Among them, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)—distributed by the Small Business Administration (SBA)—saw a spike in applications. Over $20 billion in EIDL loans have been dispersed to American businesses.
What is the EIDL loan?
The EIDL was created to help businesses meet “financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the disaster not occured.” In short: if your business has experienced a negative financial impact because of a disaster, you may be eligible for this loan.
To understand more about the terms of the loan and to get a step-by-step guide on how to apply for an EIDL, see this post.
Why should I track EIDL loan spending?
If you were a recipient of an EIDL loan, you should be tracking how you are spending the loan proceeds. You are responsible for a) spending the money according to the terms and b) demonstrating that you have done so. This means, that you need a simple tracker to keep a clear and accurate record. We’ve got one for you!
How to use the EIDL Loan Expense Tracker tool
This tool will help you easily track each expense paid for with EIDL loan money.
Get the EIDL Loan Expense Tracker for free.
To use the tool, simply go to File > Make a Copy.
Go to the tab marked EIDL Loan Expense Tracker. Cells in light grey are meant to be filled out by you; white cells contain formulas that will auto-calculate for you, so do not type in these cells—if you do, you will lose the formulas.
Enter the total loan amount you received in cell B3 (you’ll see sample text in there now that says $15000.00; simply delete that text and enter the appropriate amount):
Starting with Row 9, you can track your expenses (gain, you’ll see sample text; simply delete that text and enter the appropriate text):
- Date
- Payee
- Amount
- Expense category
You can see the total amount you have spent and the remaining available funds in Rows 4 and 5:
If the Available Funds number is green, you are under budget; if this amount appears in red, you are over budget.
Happy tracking!
Need some help with forecasting your cash flow? See the Cash Flow Forecasting series and tool.
