Credit Score and Utilisation Tracker

Who this is for

Watch your credit score and card balances move together. Each month gets a line for the score from up to three sources you name, your total card balances and limits, and a tick for payments made on time; the sheet works out the share of your limits in use.

Anyone working on a credit record before applying for a mortgage, loan or tenancy, and people paying down card balances who want to see the effect over months rather than days.

What this helps you track

• Your score from each source you use, month by month
• Total card balances against total card limits
• Utilisation: the share of your card limits in use
• Whether every payment that month went out on time
• What changed: a new account, a search, a card paid off or closed

How to use it

1. Name up to three score sources at the top; each uses its own scale, so keep every source in its own column.
2. Once a month, on about the same day, write the date and each score as the source shows it.
3. Add up the balances and the limits across all your cards from their statements or apps, and enter the two totals.
4. Tick On time if every payment that month reached its due date, and note anything that changed.
5. Utilisation and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, divide balances by limits and multiply by 100.

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

Why do my scores differ between sources?

Each source uses its own scoring method, its own scale and sometimes different data, so the numbers do not compare across columns. Watch how each one moves over time rather than setting one against another.

What utilisation should I aim for?

The sheet sets no target. Lenders and scoring firms each take their own view, and it varies by country. Watch which way your own figure moves alongside your scores, and note any figure a lender has given you.

Should I include store cards and overdrafts?

Include every credit line you want counted, but keep the same set from month to month, or the utilisation will jump for reasons that are not real. Note any change of approach in the what changed column.

How is the change in each score worked out?

The summary takes the latest score in each column from the first one you entered. Fill every month in each column you use, so the first and latest rows are the ones you expect.