How to Create Bi Weekly Budget in Excel (2 Useful Methods)

A bi weekly budget plan helps to keep control over the income and continue working towards the goal. In this article, we will learn to create a bi weekly budget in Excel with detailed steps. You might think that it is complicated to create a bi weekly budget. But after following the steps shown in this article, you will find it quite easy. So, without further delay, let’s begin.

What Is Bi weekly Budget?

A bi weekly budget plan distributes your earnings over a two-week period for both saving and spending. A bi weekly budget can be an excellent option for those who get paid bi weekly because it helps them to plan their budget properly. In this tutorial, we will learn to make a bi weekly budget in an Excel worksheet.

This tutorial will guide you with 2 useful methods to make a bi weekly budget in Excel. In these two methods, we will explain each step with screenshots for your better understanding. Let’s see the methods below.

1. Creating Bi weekly Budget in Excel Manually

In this approach, we discuss the process to create a bi weekly budget manually in Excel. The final look of the biweekly budget will be the same as the picture below. We have divided these methods into 8 steps. Let’s see the steps below.

Step 1: Add Heading on Top of the Budget Sheet

First of all, we need to add a heading at the top of the bi weekly budget sheet in Excel. The steps to add the heading are below:

Firstly, select the range B2:N2 (this range will cover the entire budget sheet).
Secondly, go to the Home tab > Alignment group > click on Merge & Center.

After that, type ‘Bi-Weekly Budget Sheet’ in the merged range.

In order to change the style of the heading, select the range (B2:N2) that you just merged > go to the Home tab > Styles group > click on the Cell Styles drop-down.

Now, go to the Titles and Headings section.
Click on Heading 2.

In turn, the heading will look like the following picture.

Therefore, click on the heading (Bi-weekly Budget Sheet) > go to the Home tab > Font group > change the Font Size (16).
See the steps in the figure below.

Step 2: Insert Heading for Two Bi Weekly Budgets in Entire Month

In this step, we will insert the headings for the 2 bi weekly budgets in Excel for the entire month. To do so, follow the steps below:

To begin, select the range B4:E4.
Next, go to the Home tab.
Afterward, click on Merge & Center in the Alignment group.

Then, type ‘Week 1 & 2’ in the merged range (B4:E4).

Now, to change the formatting of the cell, select the heading first > go to the Home tab > click on Bold (B) > change the Font Size to 14 > click on the Fill Color drop-down > select any color you want.
See the screenshot below.

Later, to change the font color of the heading, click on the heading > go to the Home tab > click on the Font Color drop-down > choose any color that you need.

Consequently, the heading of Week 1 & 2 will be like the picture below.

Similarly, prepare the heading for Week 3 & 4 (see screenshot).

At this time, to provide a border to the ‘Week 1 & 2’ heading, select the heading (Week 1 & 2) > go to the Home tab > click on the Border drop-down > choose All Borders.

In the same way, add a border to the ‘Week 3 & 4’ heading (see screenshot).

Step 3: Prepare Work Period and Income Tables

This step will guide you to prepare the Work Period and Income tables in the budget sheet. The steps are below:

Firstly, type ‘Work Period’ in cell B5.
Now, to format it, select cell B5 > go to the Home tab > click on Bold (B) > change the Font Size to 12 > click on the Border drop-down > choose All Borders.

In cells C5 and E5, we want to enter the start and end dates of the first two weeks.
So, we need to change the Number Format of the cells to Date.
Hence, select cell C5 > go to the Home tab > Number group > click on the Number Format drop-down > select Short Date from the drop-down menu.

Accordingly, type the start date (1/6/2021) of the Work Period.

In a similar manner, insert the end date (15/6/2021).

Then, type ‘to’ in between the cells of the two dates (cell D5).

After that, to provide a border, select the range C5:E5 > go to the Home tab > click on the Border drop-down.

Subsequently, choose All Borders from the Border drop-down.

As a result, the Work Period table of Week 1 & 2 will be the same as the following picture.

Likewise, make a Work Period table for Week 3 & 4.

Eventually, insert the Income heading for Week 1 & 2 (see screenshot).

Besides, create the headings for the Items, Projected & Actual Incomes and finally the Difference between the Projected & Actual Incomes.

Thereupon, type the names of the Items and insert a border into the entire table.

At this time, enter the Projected and Actual Incomes of the Items.
Therefore, calculate the Difference between the Projected and Actual incomes.
For example, use the following formula in cell E9 to find the Difference:

=C9-D9

After inserting the formula, hit Enter.

Forthwith, select the range C9:E11 > go to the Home tab > choose Accounting from the Number Format drop-down.

In turn, the $ sign will be added before the Income values (see screenshot).

In a similar manner, make another Income table for Week 3 & 4.

Step 4: Calculate Total Incomes

In this step, we will add the incomes to determine the Total Income for the bi weekly budget sheet in Excel. See the following steps:

First, to calculate the Total Projected Income in Week 1 & 2, type the formula below in cell C11:

=C9+C10

Therefore, press the Enter key.

Similarly, calculate the Total Income for the Actual and Difference columns in cells D11 & E11 respectively.

In the same way, calculate the Total Incomes in Week 3 & 4.

Step 5: Form Datasets for Expenses

Here, we will form the datasets for the Expenses in Excel for the bi weekly budget. See the steps below:

First of all, insert the dataset for Expenses in Week 1 & 2 like the following figure.

Next, insert the Expenses table for Week 3 & 4.

Step 6: Determine Total Expenses for Two Bi Weekly Budget Plans

At this time, we will calculate the Total Expenses for the bi weekly budget plan in Excel. See the following steps to do so:

In the first place, go to cell C19.
Next, enter the formula with the SUM function in cell C19 to get the Total Projected Expenses:

=SUM(C15:C18)

After that, hit Enter.
Therefore, you will find the result in cell C19 (see the screenshot below).

Likewise, calculate the Total Expenses in cells D19 and E19 respectively.

Finally, determine the Total Expenses in Week 3 & 4 (see screenshot).

Step 7: Create Monthly Income & Expenses Summary

Here, we will create the Monthly Income and Expenses summary in the bi weekly Excel budget. The steps are below:

In the beginning, create a dataset (L4:N6) for the Monthly Income Summary.
See the dataset in the following figure.

Next, select cell L6.
Now, to find the total Projected Monthly Income, apply the following formula in the cell:

=C11+H11

Press Enter.
As a result, you will get the output in cell L6.

Similarly, compute the monthly Actual income and Difference in cells M6 and N6 respectively.

In the same way, make another dataset (L7:N10) for determining the Monthly Expenses Summary.

Therefore, calculate the total Projected Monthly Expenses by using the following formula in cell L10:

=C19+H19

Hit Enter.
Consequently, you will get the result.

Likewise, determine the total Monthly Expenses in cells M10 & N10.
See the screenshot below.

Step 8: Compute Monthly Balance

In this step, we will prepare the Monthly Balance Summary table for the bi weekly budget sheet in Excel. See the steps below:

First, insert a table (L12:M14) for the Monthly Balance Summary like the following picture.

Then, calculate the Projected Monthly Balance by inserting the formula below in cell L14:

=L6-L10

Press the Enter key.
In turn, you will get the result.

In the same way, determine the Monthly Balance Summary for the Actual and Difference columns.
See the final output in the following picture.

Final Output

The final look of the bi weekly Budget Sheet in Excel will be the same as the following picture:

2. Downloading the Built-in Bi Weekly Budget Template in Microsoft Excel

In this method, we will learn to download the built-in budget templates in Microsoft Excel to create a bi weekly budget sheet. The steps are below:

Firstly, go to the File tab.

Afterward, click on New.
Therefore, Type ‘Budget’ in the search bar (see screenshot).
Then, click on the search icon.

Consequently, you will see some Budget templates.
Now, download any Budget template and modify it as per your requirements.

Download Practice Workbook

Download the practice workbook from here.

Creating Biweekly Budget.xlsx

Conclusion

I hope the above tutorial will be helpful for you to create a bi weekly budget in Excel. Download the practice workbook and give it a try. Let us know your feedback in the comment section.

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