Microsoft's New 'Money In Excel' Personal Finance Feature: What Is It?

This week, Microsoft launched a new feature in its much-loved product for calculations, Excel, that is aimed at helping users with their financial management. The 'Money in Excel' feature can only be used by Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers and will initially, only be available for users in the US.

What is 'Money in Excel'?

It is a plugin/template for Excel that allows you to easily import your financial information. Users will be able to securely connect bank, credit card, investment, and loan accounts to Excel. Once the details are imported, you will be able to track your spending with spreadsheets and graphical charts to better understand both where your money is and where it is going.

Microsoft has tapped Plaid.com for the plugin feature.

How does it work?

Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers will be able to download the template and follow instructions prompted on their screen to connect to their respective accounts by using a third-party plugin supported by Plaid. The platform supports most major US financial institutions, said Microsoft in a blog post about the launch of the feature.

Once the financial accounts are connected, Money in Excel will automatically import transaction information from the users' accounts into one workbook.

For the latest transactions, users will have to click on the "Update" button on the right side of the excel sheet.

Microsoft claims that this feature will help users keep a track of expenses, spending habits and help achieve financial goals.

"Use the "Snapshot" sheet to get an instant glimpse of how you're spending across various categories such as groceries, household items, rent, and more. With the help of easy-to-read graphs, you can quickly track how your spending compares month over month. And to help ensure you are not caught unaware of any unwelcome transactions, Money in Excel will alert you to increases in your subscription fees, changes in bank and overdraft charges, or any big purchases that were posted during the month," Microsoft said.