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Executor spreadsheet (UK): what to track, and a simpler way to do it

Last checked 25 October 2026 against GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk. General information, not legal or tax advice. England and Wales.

Executors handling an estate themselves often start with a spreadsheet, and forum threads asking “is there a template?” come up again and again. Here is what it needs to hold so the figures stand up when beneficiaries ask, and why the layout matters.

The five lists you need

List	What goes in it
Assets at the date of death	Each bank and building society account, property, shares and funds, Premium Bonds, pensions, life policies, the car, household contents, and money owed to the person (for example a refund or State Pension due). One line each, with the value on the date of death.
Debts at the date of death	Mortgage, credit cards, loans, bills up to the date of death, care fees, and the funeral.
Money in and out	Every payment into and out of the estate account after the death, with the date, who from or to, and what it was for.
Distributions	What each beneficiary received and when: legacies, interim payments, final shares, and anything handed over as it was, like a car or jewellery.
Dates	The Inheritance Tax payment deadline, letters sent and when to chase, and anything else with a date on it.

Where home-made spreadsheets go wrong

Capital and income mixed together. Interest, dividends and rent that arise after the death are income; everything the person owned at death is capital. Beneficiaries with a life interest, and HMRC, treat them differently, so estate accounts keep them apart.
Sale proceeds without the date-of-death value. If shares were worth £10,000 at death and sold for £10,600, the accounts should show both, and the £600 gain. A single “received £10,600” line hides it.
No link between the lists. When the house is sold, it should come off the list of assets still held and the money should appear in the ledger. Without that link it’s easy to count something twice or not at all.
Nothing to check against. At any point, what’s left to distribute should equal the cash in the estate account plus anything not yet sold, less debts not yet paid. If your spreadsheet can’t show that, a mistake can sit there unnoticed.
One copy on one laptop. Back it up, and if there are co-executors, agree who updates it.

A simpler way

Executor’s Cashbook is built around those five lists. You link each payment to the asset it came from or the debt it paid, so gains, losses and expenses are worked out for you, and the accounts always balance to the penny against the cash held. It runs in your browser, keeps your records on your device, and turns everything into a set of estate accounts for the beneficiaries. It’s free for up to 10 items, which is enough to see if it suits you.

Whatever you use, keep the paperwork: bank closing statements, valuations, invoices and receipts. The figures in your records should always trace back to a document.

Questions

Do executors have to keep accounts?

Executors are expected to keep a clear record of how they’ve dealt with the estate, and beneficiaries (especially those sharing what’s left) usually expect to see estate accounts before the estate is finalised. Good records also protect you if anyone questions what happened.

Should I open a separate bank account for the estate?

Most executors do, once they have the grant of probate: an executor or estate account keeps the estate’s money apart from your own, and makes the accounts much easier to reconcile.

Can I use Excel or Google Sheets instead?

Of course. The lists above work in any spreadsheet. The main thing is to keep capital and income apart, record date-of-death values alongside what was actually received, and check that the totals reconcile to the bank.

Does this work in Scotland?

Executry in Scotland uses different terms and a different process (confirmation rather than probate). This guide and Executor’s Cashbook are for England and Wales.

Keep the estate’s records in one place. Executor’s Cashbook holds the assets and debts, every payment in and out, the distributions and the deadlines, and turns them into estate accounts for the beneficiaries. It runs in your browser and your records stay on your device. Free for up to 10 items.

Open Executor’s Cashbook

Sources

More guides

This guide is general information about the rules in England and Wales, checked on 25 October 2026. It isn’t legal or tax advice, and rules change: check GOV.UK, or ask a solicitor or probate practitioner about your situation.