Opening and checking a crypto trade-log workbook in LibreOffice (free) (record-keeping only)

Not tax advice. All numbers, tokens and signatures below are EXAMPLE data. This guide covers record-keeping only. How any of this is treated where you live is a question for a tax professional.

People often ask whether a crypto spreadsheet works best in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice. We can only answer for what we actually tested: the Nah Crypto Tax Tracker workbook in LibreOffice Calc. This guide shows how to open it there, how to check in two minutes that every formula calculates, and what we can and can't say about the other two programs.

Why LibreOffice

LibreOffice describes itself as "free and open source software" (libreoffice.org). That makes it a no-cost way to open an .xlsx trade log on any desktop. We recalculated the workbook with LibreOffice 25.2 (in headless mode, i.e. without the window) for the examples in our recent guides.

What's in the file

We inspected the shipped .xlsx directly:

Four sheets: Instructions, Trade Log, FIFO and Summary.
No macros: the file contains no VBA project, only cell formulas.
The formulas use common functions such as IF, SUMPRODUCT, SUMIF, COUNTIF, INDEX, MATCH, IFERROR and YEAR.
The Type column (B2:B1000) has a drop-down list limited to "Buy" and "Sell". LibreOffice calls this validity: "For each cell, you can define entries to be valid" (help.libreoffice.org).

Open it and recalculate

Open the .xlsx in LibreOffice Calc (File → Open).
Recalculate everything once. LibreOffice's help says Shift+Ctrl+F9 recalculates "all formulas in the document, including Add-In functions and non-volatile functions" (help.libreoffice.org). Plain F9 (Data → Calculate → Recalculate) only recalculates cells that changed.
Leave the FIFO sheet alone. The workbook's Instructions say: "Do not edit the FIFO sheet."

The two-minute smoke test

The workbook ships with three EXAMPLE rows: buy 10 SOL at 100 (fee 1), buy 5 SOL at 150 (fee 1), and sell 12 SOL at 180 (fee 1), all in 2026. After recalculating in LibreOffice, we got:

Where	Expected value
Trade Log row 4, Cost/Proceeds (I)	2,159.00
Row 4, Cost basis FIFO (J)	1,301.40
Row 4, Realized P/L (K)	857.60
Check (M), rows 2 to 4	OK
Summary, 2026 realized / fees	857.60 / 3.00
Summary, holdings SOL	3, remaining cost 450.60

Across all four sheets, no cell showed an error value. If your copy shows these numbers, the formulas calculate on your machine. Then delete the EXAMPLE rows (the Instructions say "Rows marked EXAMPLE can be deleted") and start your own log.

Entering data in Calc

Paste values only into columns A to H. Columns I to M are formulas.
Dates must be real dates. The Instructions ask for "real dates (YYYY-MM-DD)". For explorer timestamps, see the tested conversion formulas.
Swaps are two rows, a Sell and a Buy with the same signature in G. For fees: enter the combined fee once per swap, on the token's row, in fiat, and do it the same way all year.
Check column M after every paste. OVERSOLD means a Sell has more units than the earlier Buys of that token; see same-day flips. CHECK DATE, CHECK NUMBERS or CHECK ROW means a date or number in that row can't be read; the row is left out of all calculations until you fix it.

Excel and Google Sheets: what we can and can't say

We have not tested the workbook in Excel or Google Sheets, so we make no claim that it works there.

What the vendors document: Google's help says you can "edit, download, and convert Microsoft® Office files in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides", and lists features that aren't supported, starting with macros (support.google.com). Our file has no macros, but that alone doesn't prove every formula behaves the same. Microsoft documents the functions the workbook uses, for example SUMPRODUCT (support.microsoft.com).

If you use either program, run the same smoke test. If any value differs from the table, use LibreOffice for the calculation.

Checklist

File opened in LibreOffice Calc and fully recalculated (Shift+Ctrl+F9).
Smoke test matches: 857.60 realized, 3.00 fees, holdings 3 SOL / 450.60.
EXAMPLE rows deleted before real data goes in.
Values only in A to H; column M says OK.

Related guides

A ready-made option

The Nah Crypto Tax Tracker is an .xlsx plus a PDF guide with plain formulas and no macros: Buy/Sell rows, Tx hash in G, Notes in H, FIFO by date then row order, an OVERSOLD flag and a per-year Summary for 2024 to 2030. FIFO only; not tailored to any country's tax rules. 29 USDC one-time: Nah Crypto Tax Tracker. Not tax advice.

Not affiliated with The Document Foundation (LibreOffice), Microsoft or Google. Sources checked 21 October 2026.