A cost total and a claim value are different things
This worksheet answers a narrow accounting question: what amounts have you documented, what has been paid, what remains due, and what is still only an estimate? It deliberately does not multiply bills or attach a “pain and suffering” number. Settlement and recovery questions can depend on coverage, causation, reasonableness, fault, contracts, statutes, and evidence that simple arithmetic cannot resolve.
Use three statuses consistently
- Paid: money has actually left you or another payer, and you can identify the proof of payment.
- Outstanding: a provider, vendor, lender, or other party currently shows a balance due.
- Estimated: a quote, expected future cost, or amount that has not yet been billed or paid.
One cost should normally appear once. If a $2,000 bill was reduced by insurance and the current patient balance is $400, do not enter $2,000 as paid and another $400 as outstanding unless the records truly show both amounts as separate obligations.
Record the source beside the amount
A useful ledger lets another person trace a row back to a document. “Medical — $850” is incomplete. “Urgent care invoice 1842, service date May 8, current balance $850” identifies the event, source, and status. For lost work, use pay records, schedules, employer letters, or tax records rather than an unsupported round number.
Keep reimbursements and write-offs visible
Insurance payments, refunds, discounts, charge reversals, and provider write-offs can change the amount actually at issue. Keep those records in the same folder even if this simple ledger shows only the current amount. A reviewer may need the original charge, adjustment, payment, and balance history to understand what happened.
Future estimates need a label and date
A future amount should be connected to a current written estimate or other identifiable basis. Note who prepared it and when. Quotes expire, treatment plans change, repairs uncover new damage, and missed-work assumptions can change. An estimate should never be presented as if it were already incurred.
Privacy and storage
Calculations happen in your browser. The page does not upload bills or send the ledger to a LegalCalc calculation API. The entries are also not backed up. Print or save the result before leaving, and avoid entering account numbers, medical diagnoses, Social Security numbers, or other details the ledger does not need.