How to track 1099 income in Google Sheets

Set up the Income tab

Create a sheet named Income with these headers in row 1:

A	B	C	D	E	F
Date	Client	Description	Category	Amount	Status

Add one row per payment. In Status, use "Paid" or "Unpaid" — this matters, because you only owe tax on money you've actually received.

Add dropdowns so entry is fast (and clean)

Select column F, then Data → Data validation → Add rule → Dropdown, and add two options: Paid and Unpaid. Do the same on column D for your categories (e.g. Design, Writing, Consulting). Dropdowns stop typos from breaking your totals.

Total only the money you've been paid

In a cell (say H1, labeled "Income received"), add:

=SUMIF(F2:F, "Paid", E2:E)

This adds up column E only where the Status is "Paid" — so unpaid invoices don't inflate your numbers.

Set up the Expenses tab

Create a sheet named Expenses with these headers:

A	B	C	D	E	F
Date	Vendor	Description	Category	Amount	Deductible

Add a Yes/No dropdown in column F. Then total your deductible expenses:

=SUMIF(F2:F, "Yes", E2:E)

Deductible expenses lower your net profit — and net profit is what you're taxed on — so flagging them is money in your pocket. (See common freelance deductions.)

Build the Summary — including your tax number

On a Summary tab, pull it together. Assuming income received is on Income!H1 and deductible expenses on Expenses!H1:

Income received   =Income!H1
Deductible costs  =Expenses!H1
Net profit        =Income!H1 - Expenses!H1
Set-aside rate    0.30
Set aside (year)  =B3 * B4
Set aside / qtr   =B3 * B4 / 4
Safe to pay you   =B3 - (B3 * B4)

(Here B3 is Net profit and B4 is your rate.) Change the rate to match your situation — how much to set aside explains why 25–30% is the common range.

Log it weekly and move your set-aside to savings

Spend a minute a week adding what came in and what went out. Each time you get paid, move your set-aside percentage into a separate savings account so it's there when a quarterly deadline arrives.