Bank Account and Direct Debit Register

Who this is for

Two lists that belong together: the accounts a household holds, and every mandate that takes money out of them. Each mandate has the day it leaves, the amount and how often, and the sheet works each one back to a monthly figure and totals them. No account numbers in full, and no passwords anywhere.

Households with money spread across several accounts, anyone who has just discovered a payment they no longer recognise, and people putting their affairs somewhere a partner or executor could follow them.

What this helps you track

• Which accounts exist, with which bank, and what each is used for
• What is in each one on the date you checked
• Every direct debit, standing order and recurring card payment, and which account it leaves
• The day of the month each goes out, so a shortfall can be seen coming
• What all of it comes to per month and per year, at your own figures

How to use it

1. Write the household, the date the figures were taken and who keeps the register at the top.
2. List each account with the bank, what kind of account it is and what it is used for. Write a partial reference, never the full number and never a passcode.
3. Enter the balance as at the date at the top, and say so — a register with undated balances is worse than none.
4. List every mandate: who it is paid to, which account it leaves, whether it is a direct debit, a standing order or a card payment, the day it goes and the amount.
5. Pick the frequency and the monthly equivalent is worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, divide an annual figure by twelve yourself.
6. Go through a statement line by line when you first fill this in, and check anything on it you cannot name.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Should I write the full account number on it?

No, and the column is labelled for a partial reference for that reason. The last few digits are enough to tell your own accounts apart, and a sheet with full details on it is a sheet you have to guard like cash.

What is the difference between a direct debit and a standing order?

A direct debit lets the organisation take a varying amount on an agreed schedule; a standing order is an instruction you set for a fixed amount. The type column records which is which, because they are cancelled in different places.

How do I handle a payment that is not monthly?

Pick the frequency from the list and the monthly column converts it. Anything on an odd cycle — four-weekly, quarterly — can be entered as its annual amount with the yearly frequency, with the real cycle in the notes.

Is this the same as the household bills tracker?

No. The bills tracker follows one month's bills being paid off one at a time. This register is a standing record of the accounts and the mandates, updated when something changes rather than every month.