diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Html.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Html.hs
index 282caa468..037d3dc8a 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Html.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Html.hs
@@ -15,15 +15,15 @@ import qualified Lucid
 import Data.Foldable (for_)
 
 
-printHtml :: [[Cell]] -> Lucid.Html ()
+printHtml :: [[Cell (Lucid.Html ())]] -> Lucid.Html ()
 printHtml table =
     Lucid.table_ $ for_ table $ \row ->
     Lucid.tr_ $ for_ row $ \cell ->
     formatCell cell
 
-formatCell :: Cell -> Lucid.Html ()
+formatCell :: Cell (Lucid.Html ()) -> Lucid.Html ()
 formatCell cell =
-    let str = Lucid.toHtml $ cellContent cell in
+    let str = cellContent cell in
     case cellStyle cell of
         Head -> Lucid.th_ str
         Body emph ->
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Ods.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Ods.hs
index 82bade471..b87b9fbe5 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Ods.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Ods.hs
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ import Text.Printf (printf)
 
 
 printFods ::
-    IO.TextEncoding -> Map Text ((Maybe Int, Maybe Int), [[Cell]]) -> TL.Text
+    IO.TextEncoding ->
+    Map Text ((Maybe Int, Maybe Int), [[Cell Text]]) -> TL.Text
 printFods encoding tables =
     let fileOpen customStyles =
           map (map (\c -> case c of '\'' -> '"'; _ -> c)) $
@@ -136,7 +137,7 @@ printFods encoding tables =
         fileClose
 
 
-cellStyles :: [Cell] -> Set (Emphasis, (CommoditySymbol, AmountPrecision))
+cellStyles :: [Cell Text] -> Set (Emphasis, (CommoditySymbol, AmountPrecision))
 cellStyles =
     Set.fromList .
     mapMaybe (\cell ->
@@ -195,7 +196,7 @@ cellConfig (emph, numParam) =
             []
 
 
-formatCell :: Cell -> [String]
+formatCell :: Cell Text -> [String]
 formatCell cell =
     let style, valueType :: String
         style =
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Spreadsheet.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Spreadsheet.hs
index ae3d4a26d..3724c61f0 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Spreadsheet.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Write/Spreadsheet.hs
@@ -8,13 +8,11 @@ module Hledger.Write.Spreadsheet (
     Emphasis(..),
     Cell(..),
     defaultCell,
+    emptyCell,
     ) where
 
 import Hledger.Data.Types (Amount)
 
-import qualified Data.Text as T
-import Data.Text (Text)
-
 
 data Type =
       TypeString
@@ -28,17 +26,23 @@ data Style = Body Emphasis | Head
 data Emphasis = Item | Total
     deriving (Eq, Ord, Show)
 
-data Cell =
+data Cell text =
     Cell {
         cellType :: Type,
         cellStyle :: Style,
-        cellContent :: Text
+        cellContent :: text
     }
 
-defaultCell :: Cell
-defaultCell =
+instance Functor Cell where
+    fmap f (Cell typ style content) = Cell typ style $ f content
+
+defaultCell :: text -> Cell text
+defaultCell text =
     Cell {
         cellType = TypeString,
         cellStyle = Body Item,
-        cellContent = T.empty
+        cellContent = text
     }
+
+emptyCell :: (Monoid text) => Cell text
+emptyCell = defaultCell mempty
diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Balance.hs b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Balance.hs
index 77936e4bd..5c32ff065 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Balance.hs
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Balance.hs
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ balance opts@CliOpts{reportspec_=rspec} j = case balancecalc_ of
               "csv"  -> \ropts1 -> printCSV . balanceReportAsCsv ropts1
               "tsv"  -> \ropts1 -> printTSV . balanceReportAsCsv ropts1
               "html" -> \ropts1 -> (<>"\n") . L.renderText .
-                                   printHtml . balanceReportAsSpreadsheet ropts1
+                                   printHtml . map (map (fmap L.toHtml)) . balanceReportAsSpreadsheet ropts1
               "json" -> const $ (<>"\n") . toJsonText
               "fods" -> \ropts1 -> printFods IO.localeEncoding . Map.singleton "Hledger" . (,) (Just 1, Nothing) . balanceReportAsSpreadsheet ropts1
               _      -> error' $ unsupportedOutputFormatError fmt  -- PARTIAL:
@@ -544,7 +544,7 @@ renderComponent topaligned oneline opts (acctname, dep, total) (FormatField ljus
                   }
 
 -- | Render a single-column balance report as FODS.
-balanceReportAsSpreadsheet :: ReportOpts -> BalanceReport -> [[Ods.Cell]]
+balanceReportAsSpreadsheet :: ReportOpts -> BalanceReport -> [[Ods.Cell Text]]
 balanceReportAsSpreadsheet opts (items, total) =
     headers :
     concatMap (\(a, _, _, b) -> rows a b) items ++
@@ -552,13 +552,13 @@ balanceReportAsSpreadsheet opts (items, total) =
       else map (map (\c -> c {Ods.cellStyle = Ods.Body Ods.Total})) $
             rows totalRowHeadingCsv total
   where
-    cell content = Ods.defaultCell { Ods.cellContent = content }
+    cell = Ods.defaultCell
     headers =
       map (\content -> (cell content) {Ods.cellStyle = Ods.Head}) $
       "account" : case layout_ opts of
         LayoutBare -> ["commodity", "balance"]
         _          -> ["balance"]
-    rows :: AccountName -> MixedAmount -> [[Ods.Cell]]
+    rows :: AccountName -> MixedAmount -> [[Ods.Cell Text]]
     rows name ma = case layout_ opts of
       LayoutBare ->
           map (\a ->