Accounts Payable Tracker in Excel

Q: How do I calculate days to due date in Excel?

Use `=Due Date − TODAY()`. A positive result is days remaining; a negative result means the bill is overdue by that many days. `TODAY()` keeps the figure current each day.

Q: Is the template free?

Yes — free to download, no sign-up. ---

⬇ Download the free receivables & payables tracker (Excel) — no sign-up

Last updated: 27 June 2026 · Columns, formulas and a free template included.

An accounts payable tracker in Excel is a single sheet listing every supplier bill you owe — vendor, bill number, bill date, due date, amount, amount paid and balance — with formulas that flag what's due soon and what's overdue, so you pay the right suppliers on time and protect your cashflow. Add a few MSME columns and it also warns you before a Micro or Small bill crosses its 15/45-day deadline.

Key takeaways

One row per bill with seven core columns: vendor, bill no., bill date, due date, amount, paid, balance.
Balance = Amount − Paid; Days to due = Due Date − TODAY() (negative means overdue).
Conditional formatting turns overdue bills red and near-due bills amber so nothing slips.
A summary block (SUMIF) shows total payable and total overdue at the top.
MSME columns (Udyam, category, agreement) flag bills under the Section 43B(h) 45-day rule.
The same data feeds your AP ageing report and cash-flow forecast.

Fact box. Accounts payable are amounts you owe suppliers for bills received but not yet paid. Tracking each bill's due date — not just its amount — is what lets you pay on time, hold cash where you can, and avoid late-payment penalties.

What columns should an AP tracker have?

A clean payables tracker needs these columns, left to right:

Column	Purpose	Example / formula
Vendor	Supplier name	Mehta Industries
Bill No.	Unique reference	PINV-0457
Bill Date	When received	02-06-2026
Credit Days	Agreed terms	30
Due Date	When payable	`=Bill Date + Credit Days`
Amount	Bill total	₹1,20,000
Paid	Paid so far	₹50,000
Balance	Still owed	`=Amount − Paid`
Days to Due	Timing	`=Due Date − TODAY()`
Status	At a glance	`=IF(Balance=0,"Paid",IF(Days to Due<0,"Overdue","Due"))`

Keep one row per bill. When you make a part-payment, update the Paid column — the balance and status recalculate on their own.

How do I flag overdue and upcoming bills?

Use the Days to Due column with conditional formatting so timing colours itself:

Select the data rows.
Home → Conditional Formatting → New Rule → Use a formula.
Red fill (overdue): =$I2<0 (adjust the column letter to your Days to Due column).
Amber fill (due within 5 days): =AND($I2>=0,$I2<=5).
Green/none for everything else.

Sort by Days to Due, smallest first, and your overdue and soon-due bills rise to the top — your payment run for the week.

Fact box. =Due Date − TODAY() gives days remaining: a positive number is days left to pay, a negative number is days overdue. Because TODAY() refreshes on every open, the tracker is always current with no manual editing.

How do I see total payable at a glance?

Add a small summary block above the table using SUMIF and COUNTIF:

Total payable: =SUM(Balance column)
Total overdue: =SUMIF(Days to Due column, "<0", Balance column)
Due in next 7 days: =SUMIFS(Balance, Days to Due, ">=0", Days to Due, "<=7")
Payable to one vendor: =SUMIF(Vendor column, "Mehta Industries", Balance column)

These give you the morning numbers that matter: how much you owe in total, how much is already late, and how much falls due this week.

How do I add the MSME 45-day check?

If a supplier is a Micro or Small, Udyam-registered, non-trading enterprise, paying late triggers the Section 43B(h) tax disallowance plus MSMED Act interest. Add four columns:

Udyam No., Category (Micro/Small/Medium/Not registered), Activity (Mfg/Service/Trader), Agreement? (Yes/No).
Flag whether the rule applies: =IF(AND(OR(Category="Micro",Category="Small"),Activity<>"Trader",Udyam<>""),"YES","NO")
Set the legal deadline: Limit days = IF(Agreement="Yes",45,15), then Pay-by = Bill Date + Limit days.
Count down to that date and colour it red as it approaches — only for rows where the flag is YES.

The 45-day ceiling and 15-day default come from Section 15 of the MSMED Act, 2006. The full MSME tracker logic is covered in the Section 43B(h) guide.

A free, ready-to-use payables tracker is available to download, no sign-up — open it, replace the sample rows, and you're tracking.

How Ankeshan helps: Ankeshan builds this payables view from your purchase bills automatically inside Excel — balances, due-date flags and Micro/Small 43B(h) warnings update as bills come in, with no formulas to maintain. It's launching soon; join the waitlist.

Frequently asked questions

What is an accounts payable tracker? It's a sheet listing every unpaid supplier bill with its due date and balance, plus a flag for what's overdue or due soon — so you know exactly whom to pay, how much, and by when.

How do I calculate days to due date in Excel? Use =Due Date − TODAY(). A positive result is days remaining; a negative result means the bill is overdue by that many days. TODAY() keeps the figure current each day.

How do I track MSME 45-day payments in the same sheet? Add Udyam, Category, Activity and Agreement columns, then a formula that flags Micro/Small non-trader suppliers and sets the deadline to 15 or 45 days from the bill date. See the Section 43B(h) guide.

What is the difference between accounts payable and accrued expenses? Accounts payable are confirmed supplier bills you've received and will pay; accrued expenses are costs incurred but not yet billed. A payable tracker handles the former — actual bills with due dates.

Is the template free? Yes — free to download, no sign-up.

Sources

Microsoft Excel function reference — TODAY, SUMIF, SUMIFS, IF: support.microsoft.com.
MSMED Act, 2006 — Section 15 (15/45-day payment limit); Income Tax Act, Section 43B(h): msme.gov.in, incometax.gov.in.
General accounting practice for payables/creditors management.

General information, not professional advice. Verify on the official portal for your case. Reviewed by a Chartered Accountant; last updated 27 June 2026.