Microsoft Excel

Get the most from this popular spreadsheet program

By Frances Sharpe, freelance writer/editor

The spreadsheet, a simple grid arranged by rows and columns, may be the most commonly used form in business. And Microsoft Excel, the most popular spreadsheet program available, can help you make the most of this business staple. With Excel, you can prepare all kinds of charts and graphs to project, record, calculate and track financial data or to create if/then scenarios. Put Excel to work for you by creating spreadsheets for the following purposes:

1. Accounting.
2. Employee attendance and scheduling.
3. Budgeting.
4. Invoicing.
5. Production flow.
6. Payroll.
7. Project management.
8. Tracking sales and commissions.
9. Inventory management.

Learn the ABCs of Excel

Get up to speed quickly with easy-to-follow online tutorials.
Try: Microsoft.com offers a number of online training courses to help you with every aspect of Excel, from creating a chart to importing data and using financial formulas.

Take advantage of templates

Rather than reinventing the wheel, give yourself a headstart with templates for common business spreadsheets
Try: Download Excel templates for cash-flow analyses, balance sheets, depreciation calculators, employee schedules, sales commission tracking, advertising budgets, event schedules and more.

Create formatting styles

If you routinely use the same formatting options for your spreadsheets, create a formatting style to save time. This way, you can quickly apply your formatting options to any worksheet. The quickest way to create formatting styles is to use an existing workbook that contains the formatting you want.
Try: Follow the step-by-step instructions at Microsoft.com to create formatting styles.

Use math formulas

Excel spreadsheets can act as a calculator, providing powerful adding and counting tools. If you simply need to tally the figures in a row or column, it can do it for you. Likewise, it can handle more advanced calculations, such as percentages, averages, multiplication and division.
Try: Discover the many ways you can use math formulas in Excel at the Microsoft Web site.

Use graphics

When a simple chart just isn’t enough, add graphics to your Excel spreadsheets. Excel can accommodate photos, 3-D graphs, arrows and background watermarks.
Try: Visit ExcelTips.com for dozens of tips on adding graphics to your workbooks.

Create PivotTable reports and PivotCharts

If you have large amounts of data, such as a database, that you want to analyze in a spreadsheet, create a PivotTable report. These interactive reports allow you to modify the data so you get the specific information you need. A PivotChart is a graphic representation of the data in the PivotTable. You can change the layout and data in a PivotChart just as you can change the data in a PivotTable.
Try: Microsoft offers an online course to help you master PivotTable reports and PivotCharts.

Solicit advice

If you run into trouble trying to format your workbooks, using formulas or importing data, and can’t find answers to your question, get help from Excel experts and fellow Excel users.
Try: Go to MVPs.org to find an Excel expert who can offer suggestions when you have a technical question. Or ask your peers for tips on Microsoft.com’s Excel Discussion Forum.