Ah, Excel. It’s been around since the ’80s, yet it can still stump many of us. There’s a lot to learn, from creating complex formulas to navigating pivot tables.
So, where do you turn? You can buy a paid course, which will give you a lot of bang for your buck, but you can also start smaller — and free.
Here are a few resources to get you started. This tip is sponsored by Oracle NetSuite, the world’s No. 1 cloud business system.
1. Clean up your data
The first rule of Excel: The cleaner your data, the better. There are countless ways typos, spaces and odd characters can gum up the works. Tap or click here for a great resource from Microsoft: The top ways to clean up your data. You’ll find a list of the most common mistakes and steps for cleaning them up.
2. Watch some high-quality tutorials
Seeing a program in use is much easier than reading about it. YouTube is great for this, and many high-quality channels are out there. MotionTraining has a great beginner’s series and videos that cover all the basics. TeachExcel is a popular channel with 169,000 subscribers and quick videos on just about anything you want to be done in Excel.
3. Find templates to do the work for you
There are lots of pre-made templates you can download right from Microsoft. Downloading from the source is nice because you know they are safe to use and will get the job done. Tap or click to see Microsoft’s offerings, from nutritional recipe calculators to finance balance sheets.
Bonus: For your financials, move to software that makes the job easy.
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