Why Finance Teams Still Use Excel Templates
Even in companies running ERP systems and BI tools, Excel is still part of every planning cycle. It’s fast, familiar, and easy to distribute across teams. That’s why balance sheet templates haven’t disappeared: they’re often the starting point for collecting inputs, checking numbers, and standardizing reports.
Take a mid-sized manufacturing group: each month, local finance teams fill out the same balance sheet file. The group controller consolidates these into a master report for HQ. It’s not ideal, but it works – because the structure is clear and everyone understands how to use it.
For companies dealing with multiple legal entities or departments, a consistent Excel balance sheet template reduces errors and helps align Actuals, Plans, and Forecasts. That’s especially useful in fast-close environments or when preparing management reports under tight deadlines.
Before building complex workflows, most teams still start with a balance sheet template. And it makes sense.
What Is a Balance Sheet Template?
A balance sheet template is a simple Excel file that helps you track what the company owns and what it owes. It follows a clear formula:
Assets = Liabilities + Equity
Finance teams use this balance sheet template to check the company’s financial position each month. It shows how much cash is available, what debts need to be paid, and how much value sits in the business. This helps with liquidity planning, working capital tracking, and reporting to leadership.
A solid balance sheet template isn’t just a list of numbers. It includes monthly columns, clean categories, and automatic calculations. It also separates Actuals, Plans, and Forecasts so you can compare different versions without confusion.
If you need to look at multiple periods side by side, or prepare a comparative balance sheet, this format keeps everything aligned.
Download the Free Balance Sheet Template
You can download the balance sheet template right here. It’s built for finance teams that need structure but don’t want to waste time on formatting.
Here’s what it includes:
- Monthly columns from January to December
- Tabs for Actual, Plan, and Forecast
- Automatic calculations for totals, working capital, equity, etc.
- A version selector that pulls the right data into the summary view
You can use this file to collect inputs from different teams, run a quick forecast, or close the month faster. It works well on its own, or as a starting point before moving to a planning tool like Farseer.
What a Finance-Grade Balance Sheet Template Must Include
Structure matters. A good balance sheet template makes reporting faster and less prone to mistakes.
This one includes full monthly columns, consistent structure across Actual, Plan, and Forecast, and automatic formulas for totals and subtotals. You’ll find breakdowns like intangible assets, cash, and short-term payables grouped under clean categories.
The time format uses “2024.1”, “2024.2” and so on, which helps when you’re uploading data or linking it into a dashboard.
It also comes with built-in KPIs:
- Current ratio
- Quick ratio
- Debt to equity ratio
- Cash ratio
- Debt ratio
These update as you input numbers, so you always have a view of liquidity and financial health, no extra work needed.
If you track metrics like balance sheet ratios, this setup gives you what you need right out of the box.
How Enterprise Teams Use This Template in Practice
This balance sheet template fits teams that need to manage Actuals, Plans, and Forecasts in the same format. It keeps inputs clean and aligned across months, no matter how many people are involved.
Each version – Actual, Plan, and Forecast 3+9 – uses the same structure. You don’t need to fix formulas or reformat sheets when switching between them. That saves time and avoids mistakes.
Teams use it during:
- Monthly closing, to fill in key line items
- Forecasting, to update actuals and adjust future months
- Reporting, to switch versions and get clean numbers fast
The KPI section shows the current ratio, cash ratio, and other key metrics based on live inputs. No need for extra calculations.
If your company reports across legal entities, this format also works well for consolidated financial statements. You don’t need to rebuild anything or chase formatting fixes across files.
Read: Profit and Loss Statement Template for Enterprise (Free Excel Download)
When Excel Starts Slowing You Down
Excel works well at first. But as the planning process gets more complex, things start to break.
Formulas go missing. Versions multiply. Teams send files back and forth. Someone edits the wrong sheet. Now you’re spending more time cleaning up the file than using the numbers.
Even with a clean balance sheet template, Excel still has limits:
- You can’t compare versions without building helper sheets
- You can’t control who edits what
- You can’t track changes or lock down structure properly
If you’re running plan vs actual comparisons, or juggling multiple forecast versions, it gets messy fast.
That’s where Farseer helps. You can keep the same structure, but skip the problems.
- Add a new version in one click
- Compare Actuals, Plans, and Forecasts instantly
- Collaborate across teams with built-in access control
- Build consolidated financial statements without merging files
The balance sheet template is a great place to start. But when you’re ready to scale, you’ll want something built for planning, not just spreadsheets.
Ready to Move Beyond Templates?
Templates like this one help teams move faster. You get structure, consistency, and a clear view of your numbers – without starting from scratch every month.
But Excel does have limits. As planning grows more complex, version control, collaboration, and data accuracy become real problems. If you’re managing plan vs actual comparisons or working across entities, those issues stack up fast.
Farseer keeps the structure you already use but solves the problems Excel can’t handle. You get:
- One-click version management
- Clean comparisons across Actuals, Plans, and Forecasts
- Role-based collaboration
- Real-time updates and auditability
- Support for consolidated financial statements without file merging
If you’re outgrowing Excel but still want a structured, familiar workflow, Farseer gives you exactly that – with version control, real-time collaboration, and clean outputs built in.
Book a demo and see how it fits your model.
