The Class field is what separates this template from a basic expense log. Most people skip it. The ones who use it are tracking something specific — a rental property, a side business, a tax-deductible category — where mixing transactions with personal finances would make year-end reconciliation a mess.
The Archive Problem
Multiple mobile expense apps solve convenience but create fragmentation. You might log groceries in one app, business lunches in another, and transfer records from a third. The actual financial picture lives in none of them.
This template functions as the consolidation layer. Transactions arrive with their source account recorded, their payee named, and their category assigned — matching whatever taxonomy you already use. The Cleared field tracks reconciliation status against your bank statement, so you know which entries have been confirmed versus which are pending. The Chk # field handles paper checks and ACH reference numbers, the transaction types most apps handle poorly.
Memo is the field that earns its space six months later. The payee says "Amazon." The memo says "replacement power supply for office workstation — deductible." Without that note, the transaction is just an amount.
Class-Based Tracking
Class is a second classification axis, orthogonal to Category. Category answers "what kind of expense?" — Utilities, Meals, Software. Class answers "for which project, property, or entity?" — Rental Unit A, Consulting LLC, Personal.
Run an aggregation on Amount filtered by Class and you have a per-entity P&L without manually segregating accounts. For anyone managing more than one income stream or cost center, this is the difference between knowing roughly what each entity costs and knowing precisely.
The Budget field allows a target amount alongside the actual, which enables variance tracking at the transaction level rather than only at the monthly summary.