Mastering Excel: a Beginner’s Guide to Spreadsheets

Ever felt overwhelmed by Excel? You’re not alone! This powerful tool can seem intimidating, but once you learn the basics, it becomes an essential skill for organizing data, analyzing sales, and making smarter decisions.

In this guide, you will learn how to:

1. Open and navigate the Excel interface
2. Enter and format data in cells
3. Use essential formulas like SUM, AVERAGE, and IF
4. Create tables and charts for visualizing information
5. Sort and filter data to identify trends
6. Save and manage your spreadsheets

Whether you’re new to Excel or need a refresher, this beginner-friendly guide will help you start step by step.

This guideline has been created for:

1. Window users, though some Mac users can follow along
2. Laptop use over a handheld device (phone, tablet)

1. Click the Start button (Windows icon) in the bottom-left corner
2. Type Excel in the search bar and select the Excel app
3. Once Excel opens, click File > Open, then browse for a new spreadsheet

These are some features that make up the Excel workspace:

1. Ribbon: The toolbar at the top with tabs like Home, Insert, Formulas, and Data.
2. Cells: Individual boxes where you enter data, organized by columns (A, B, C...) and rows (1, 2, 3...).
3. Formula Bar: Located above the spreadsheet, where you can enter or edit formulas.
4. Worksheets: Tabs at the bottom that let you switch between different sheets in a workbook.

1. Click on the cell where you want to enter data (Notice a white plus sign hovering? That will be your cursor. Use that as a way to navigate your excel sheet)
2. Type a text or a number
3. Press Enter or Tab to move to the next cell

To format data:

1. Bold (Ctrl + B / Command + B)
2. Highlight cells (Click ‘Fill Color’ in the toolbar)
3. Adjust column width (Double-click the column divider)

When working in Excel, formulas help automate calculations, saving time and reducing errors. Here are a few essential formulas for analyzing sales data, or more:

SUM – Calculate Total Value

SUM function adds up the values in the defined range. In the image above, the SUM function adds up the values in column B. The output should be 6 and be stored in cell B5

Syntax: =SUM(number1, [number2], …)

AVERAGE – Find Average Value

AVERAGE function finds the mean value in the defined range. In the image above, the AVERAGE function finds the mean from the values given in Column B. The output should be 2 and stored in cell B5

Syntax: =AVERAGE(number1, [number2], …)

IF function performs a logical test and returns one value if the test is true and another if it’s false. In the image above, if a value in cell B2 is greater than 500, “Above Target” will be printed in cell B5. Since the value is 1, and 1 < 500, “Below Target” was printed in cell B5.

Syntax: =IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)

Creating a Table for Data Visualization

1. Create a table of value Select data range (e.g., "=A1:C10").
2. Click Insert > Table and click structured table
3. Click "My Table has Headers" (Optional, but we recommend using headers)
4. Click OK to create a structured table.

Sorting – Arrange Data from Highest to Lowest

1. Click any cell in the column you want to sort.
2. Go to Data > Sort, then choose ascending or descending order.

Filtering – View Specific Products

1. Click any cell in your dataset.
2. Go to Data > Filter, then use drop-down arrows to filter results.

1. Click File > Save As to save the document.
2. Choose a format (we recommend.xlsx).
3. Store the file in an easily accessible location.

With these steps, you can confidently manage sales data, analyze performance, and make informed decisions using Excel. Keep practicing, and don’t be afraid to explore new features. The more you use it, the more powerful it becomes.

To continue learning, check out Microsoft’s official Excel training: Excel help & learning

This free resource covers beginner to advanced topics, with interactive examples and downloadable practice files.