excel manual: the all-in-one guide to learn & master microsoft excel for both business &...

Table of Contents

Disclaimers

Intent

Special Bonus

Step 1. Dollar Sign $

Step 2. Keyboard Shortcuts

Step 3. Excel Toolbar Menu

HOME tab

INSERT tab

PAGE LAYOUT tab

FORMULAS tab

DATA tab

REVIEW tab

VIEW tab

DEVELOPER tab

Step 4. Excel Formulas

=IF

=OR, = AND

=IFERROR

=CONCATENATE, =RIGHT, =LEFT

=VLOOKUP, =HLOOKUP

=INDEX & MATCH

=SUMIFS

=COUNTIFS

Step 5. Designing Reports in Excel

Final Words to Say

Disclaimers

The book contains materials that designed to assist

readers in effective using of Microsoft Excel

spreadsheet. While the author has made every

attempt to verify that the information provided in

this book is correct and up to date, the author

assumes no responsibility for any error, inaccuracy

or omission.

The book’s material includes information and

products by third parties. Third Parties may change

or modified their information and products in any

time. As such, the author does not assume

responsibility for any inconsistencies.

All trademarks appearing in this guide are the

property of their respective owners.

No part of this publication shall be reproduced,

transmitted, or sold in whole or in part in any form,

without the prior consent of the author.

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Intent

I wrote this guide to share my experience about

what you should learn and focus on in order to

get maximum results out of Excel.

When I was in a time of not knowing Excel

enough, I couldn’t do my work the way I’ve

wished and imagined. As a result, I would spend

hours on the internet to go through the piles of

information and learn as much as possible with

only one goal: improve my skills in Excel.

Unfortunately, it made me even more

disappointed and overwhelmed since I didn’t

know what are the most important formulas and

function, and where I could potentially apply

them.

It was not too long ago. So I thought, how it

would’ve been great to have an all-in-one guide,

from start to finish, that has only the most

meaningful and necessary information for

improving Excel skills. To make it happen, I’ve

put together my practical experience, hours

spent on the internet, and a great desire. The goal

was simple: to make the guide as short as

possible, but very informative for you.

Neither I’m a guru nor an “Excel nerd”, but just

a common guy who works a lot with Excel and

now is willing to share his many years’

experience with you. As much as I love English,

it’s not my mother tong. So, I apologize if you

hear something weird along the way. I was so

determined to write this book that I decided to

give it a fly.

If I can help only one person to learn Excel, then

the time I have spent to write this eBook is

totally worth it.

This book is a guide that walks you through the

main formulas, functions, and other useful

features in Excel. It’s not a “system” to master

Excel in a few days. It has, however, 5 simple

steps that guide you towards creating automated,

powerful reports. Furthermore, it will give

interesting insights on how you can use the

formulas and functions in different situations.

Nonetheless, the ultimate success depends on

our joint work, so I advise you, after each

chapter, set aside some time to practice.

I hope that this book will be worth your time.

Thanks!

Special Bonus

I’m very thankful to you for picking up my

guide, Excel Manual. It’s a big honour for me to

share with you my experience. I’m thrilled and

very excited to give you a proper “Excel road

map” that you could get the most out of it. To

make the words be worth of more than just

words, I’ve prepared for you an automated

report in Excel spreadsheet only by using

information and tips from the book. I will take

you behind the scene to show you how this

report was created that you could do it yourself.

Once we walked through all the necessary steps,

we will come back to this topic at the end of this

book. If you, however, want to take a look at the

report right now, you can download it from here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1w351lc2kg170xl

/AACDyRCb5CBsrKh-B3PD0qJfa?dl=0

Enjoy the reading and thank you again!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1w351lc2kg170xl/AACDyRCb5CBsrKh-B3PD0qJfa?dl=0


“There’s an entire flight simulation hidden in

every copy of Microsoft Excel.”

- Bruce Schneier

Step 1. Dollar Sign $

Before we take the path of learning “dreadful”

formulas and tools, I would like you to

understand how Dollar Sign works in Excel.

However, if you already have a clear picture of

how it works, you can move to the next chapter.

I will catch you there just in minutes.

For now, however, let’s cut to the chase. First,

you should never underestimate this little $ guy

because he will trick you as soon as you lose

your attention, especially, when your work with

long formulas. Apart from the money, Dollar

Sign means fixation of cell references.

You can fix the cell references in the three

different ways:

$A$1 – absolute cell reference;

A$1 – reference to a particular row;

$A1 – reference to a particular column.

Before we go into the details, let’s talk about

Excel worksheet. Excel worksheet is a pool of

cells arranged in columns and rows. Each cell

has its own location that defined by a column

letter (A, B, C etc.) and a row number (1, 2, 3

etc.).

Thus, if we put number 100 in the first cell of a

worksheet and then refer to this cell from another

cell, we will see the cell’s location, i.e. =A1.

In this example, cell B2 has a reference to cell

A1. It’s called “relative reference” because it’s

not fixed by dollar sign. Why do we need to fix

our cell references? The answer is simple. We

need to fix cell references by dollar sign when

we copy and paste the formula to another cell

or a range of cells while willing to keep the

initial references unchanged.

Let’s take another example. Assume we’ve

copied the formula from cell B2 to cell C4.

As you can see, cell C4 doesn’t refer to cell A1

anymore but rather to cell B3. Why? Because

we didn’t fix the reference before coping the

formula to another cell. If you didn’t fix the

reference and copied the formula to another cell

(C4), this another cell will refer to a new cell

(B3) based on the logical position of the copied

cell (B2) relatively referred cell (A1). That’s

why they called relative cell references.

Well, it may still sound confusing, but let’s take

another look at our previous example. Logical

position of cell B2 to referred cell A1 is the top

left corner of cell B2.

After coping the formula from cell B2 to cell C4,

the reference remained in the same logical

position – the top left corner.

Let’s face a few more examples to have a more

vivid picture of cell references behaviour on

Excel worksheet.

1) Absolute cell reference $A$

If you want to remain the initial cell reference

(=A1), insert double dollar sign (one click on F4

key) before copying the formula from cell B2 to

cell C4.

2) Reference to a particular row (A$1)

If you want to refer only to the cell’s row,

double-click on F4 key before coping the

formula to cell C4. As you can see, the reference

has moved one column to the right side after we

copied the formula from B to C column.

However, it’s still remaining in the same row.

3) Reference to a particular column $A1

If you want to refer only to the cell’s column,

triple-click on F4 key before copying the

formula to cell C4. Now, the formula is referred

only to column A. Notice that we’ve moved two

rows down and one column to the right side after

we copied the formula from cell B2 to cell C4.

As a result, the reference also moved two rows

down, but it remained in the same column (A).

Remember: Excel doesn’t memorize initial cell

references unless you have fixed it with dollar

sign.

Dollar Sign is a basic but initially confusing

command in Excel. I strongly believe that this’s

the first thing you should learn in order to

understand the logic behind Excel. Moreover,

you will often copy formulas, cell ranges, and

even whole tables from one place to another, so

make sure that you feel confident with this topic

before we move any further.

Step 2. Keyboard Shortcuts

If you want to increase your productivity and be

efficient with your time, then I’ve prepared for

you a list of the most important Excel keyboard

shortcuts you must know and use. Probably most

of you already know all or some of the

combinations, but it’s still a good reminder.

Ctrl+Shift+Arrow Key

It’s the most useful combination. It helps to

select a range of cells in just a second.

Ctrl+1

Quick access to formatting menu. First, select

any cell or a graph and then press the command

to open formatting menu.

F2

Press F2 to edit active cell and see all the

references of this cell.

Alt+=

If you go to the first empty cell underneath a

column that is filled with some values and then

press this combination, Excel will sum up the all

values above the cell.

Tab > Ctrl+A

Use these commands while working with

formula. If you press Tab while typing a formula

in a cell, it will select the formula. Then you can

press Ctrl+A to open the formula’s window.

Shift+F9

Calculates the active worksheet. Use it when you

switched to manual calculation option in Excel.

Needless to say, you should also know these

combinations:

Ctrl+C Copy

Ctrl+V Paste

Ctrl+Z Undo

Ctrl+S Save

Step 3. Excel Toolbar Menu

Excel Toolbar hides plenty of features that can

help you do your work much easier and faster. In

this chapter, I will guide you through the most

important features of Excel Tollbar that you may

need in your work.

I use Microsoft Office 2013. Nonetheless,

version 2010 should have, almost, the same

layout and features. If you use older versions,

layout and richness of features may not be the

same, yet most of them you should find. Let’s

get it started.

1. HOME tab

This feature is used to copy the format of one

content and apply it to another. It doesn’t copy

the content itself but only the format (colour,

font etc.). It helps to save a lot of time on

formatting. Just try it, and you will use it again

and again.

This feature is good to organize information in

cells.

Wrap Text enables you to wrap long text into

multiple lines that you could read it.

Merge & Center enables you to take several cells

and combine them into one cell.

Conditional Formatting helps to analyse

quantitative information, i.e. spot trends, find

winners and losers, and so on just in a matter of

seconds.

Format as Table structures your data to “smart”

table. Smart table gives you flexibility in

working with databases (massive files of

information). You can analyse, export, and do

other manipulations with the table. In addition to

that, this table automatically picks up new

incoming information. Just add new data to the

bottom or to the right side of the table, and the

table will integrate this information to its range.

You can also name the table and then refer to the

table’s range in formulas by just typing the table

name.

In the example below, I have created a simple

Excel table and named the table “order”.

Now, if I type any formula, I don’t need to select

the table’s range since I can simply refer to this

range by typing “order”.

Moreover, if later you decide to add new

information below the table, the table’s array

will be extended simultaneously.

It’s the time when you need to create a new

worksheet on your desktop and try it out in order

to see how it works.

Format can be useful if you need to arrange

height and width of rows and columns.

Sort & Filter helps to arrange your data that you

can analyse it much easier.

Find & Select helps you find specific

information in the worksheet. Furthermore, you

can also replace these findings with other data if

you need (for instance, € sign to £ sign).

2. INSERT tab

Here you can find the following useful features.

Pivot Table (PT) is a very powerful “creature” of

Excel. Popularity of PivotTable is due to its

efficiency and ability of arranging massive pools

of data in convenient tables. These tables are

also quickly adjustable. You can arrange

information as you want and then present it in

different ways.

To begin with, call PivotTable function and

select a table range. This range has to be in

vertical arrangement where headers are on the

top of data.

After you have selected the range, you can either

create a PivotTable on the existing worksheet or

create it on a new worksheet. When PivotTable

is created, you will see such fields.

Arrange the fields as you need by dragging

qualitative fields to COLUMNS or/and ROWS,

and quantitative fields to VALUES.

After you arranged your fields, the PivotTable is

built.

What else SHOULD I know about

PivotTable?

1. Originally, PT has standard display of rows.

Meaning that if you have more than one field in

ROWS area, PT will display these rows within

one column of the worksheet.

In our example, year and month are built in one

column. That may be fine in some cases.

However, imagine you have more than two

fields in ROWS area. Then it may cause a big

mess to read the data. That’s why some users

prefer to use Classic layout.

If you go to PivotTable Tools menu and then to

Options > Display, you can select Classic

PivotTable layout.

You should get something like this.

Excel has separated year and month between two

different columns (A & B). However, it still

looks messy. That’s why we need to do a little

clean-up.

Let’s say, we don’t want to have subtotals and

blank rows in column A. Right mouse click on a

cell inside the table in column A and unselect

subtotal “year”. Right click again, go to Field

Settings > Layout & Print and select Repeat item

labels. Now, it should look like this.

2. The other useful feature of PivotTable is

filters and slicers. It enables you to sort data and

quickly find necessary information. To create

filters, just drag your fields to FILTERS area.

That’s it.

Another way to filter your PivotTable is to select

slicers.

Just click on Insert Slicer in PT menu and select

filters that you need. Personally, I prefer to use

Slicers because it’s more convenient.

Charts is another powerful feature of Excel.

There’s a lot to be said and taught about charts

since it’s one of the best ways to visually present

information. A simple chart may tell you more

than a vast array of data since it’s easier to

understand for a majority of people. There is a

big variety of charts, and you can even build two

different types of chats in one. It’s a matter of

taste and needs.

This topic, however, can take me another book

just `to explain charts, so, unfortunately, I won’t

be diving too deep in this topic. Later, however,

I will teach you how to build a dynamic

waterfall-chart on a practical example. So stay

on the track.

p.s. I also know that it may not be the answer as

each of you have different interests and needs.

So, if you need more information on charts,

please let me know by sending an email. I

promise that I will try to do my best to help you

with this.

3. PAGE LAYOUT tab

This menu section is mainly used for printing

matters, but we’re not here to learn how to print

fine art. So, I will skip this topic.

4. FORMULAS tab

Apart from Excel formulas, there’re also other

useful features to consider.

Remember we talked about Excel tables and that

we can name the tables in order to refer to their

range later on.

Name Manager is where your table arrays are

stored under your specified names. You can go

there anytime and change the names or its

references.

Define Name option enables you to name any

range of cells. Simply select your range, then

click on this option and give it a name.

You can choose automatic or manual option to

calculate your formulas in Excel. As a default,

it’s set automatically. However, manual option

can be helpful, especially, when you work in a

big Excel file. Because automatic calculation of

lots of formulas may cause long file processing

and, as a result, waste of your time.

5. DATA tab

You will find a bunch of useful features in this

menu, but, today, we are going to cover only the

most important. First, however, I advise you to

extend the menu by adding additional feature

that is hidden by default in Excel setting.

Go to File > Options > Add-Ins Manager and

select Analysis ToolPak. This ToolPak provides

data analysis tools for statistical and engineering

analysis. So, if it’s something that is related to

your work, add this feature without any

hesitation.

I can’t say that I’m a big fan of all them that is

likely due to my field of work, yet Regression

Analysis is something that reminds me of school

and university days. Even today, I still use this

analysis, especially, for forecasting, investment

analysis etc. However, it’s not in the scope of

this book because most of people don’t use it that

often. Nevertheless, if you are interested to know

more or just need a guidance, feel free to drop

me email at: [email protected], and I

will be glad to help you out. For now, let’s

continue moving forward.

Text to Columns splits a single column of text

into multiple columns. Splits a text into multiple

columns? What? Ok, let me show you an

example when you might need it to use as it’s

really useful feature.

Often, when we export some data from external

sources to Excel file (line Internet, Software


etc.), we may see that different kinds of

information are stored in just one Excel column.

Yes, of course you can do it manually, but

there’s another and more convenient way to split

the text. Let’s come back to the example where

year, quantity, and amount are all in column A.

In this case, Excel will define this information as

a text, so you won’t be able to perform any

calculations or whatsoever. However, thanks to

Text to Columns feature, you can fix this

problem just in seconds. Simply go to this option

and select Delimited file type because you have

comma that separates the information.

Press finish and you will get something like this.

Now, you can do whatever you want to do with

the data.

The name speaks for itself. Just select what

columns should be checked for duplicates. If

duplicates are found, they will be automatically

removed.

I like this feature because of its drop-down list,

and we will come back to this feature later on, so

pay your attention.

Most importantly is that you can join this feature

together with Excel formulas to build

“personalized reports”. Select an empty cell and

go to Data Validation. Then, select LIST option

and choose a source of your list (select a range

of cells).

After you will get something like this.

It’s also a good option to consider when you

need to create, for instance, some quitionary

form or a template that you want after send to

other peope to fill it. Instead of answering with

some random “things”, they will have a list of

different choises you made yourself.

When something is not that important in your

report, but you still need to keep this

information, maybe, just in case, you can create

Groups and Subgroups.

Simply select columns and/or rows you want to

group (hide) and then click on Group.

Like in my example, I wanted to hide months

while keeping only the quarters’ numbers.

You can hide/unhide the data by clicking on

plus/minus buttons. Very simple.

6. REVIEW tab

Protection of your work is very important,

especially, if you don’t want to disclose your

formulas to other people and/or that other people

make changes in your report. In other words, this

feature keeps your formulas and content

protected from unwanted changes.

You can protect either the whole worksheet, or

just a specific area.

However, usually, we need to protect just a

specific area of cells while allowing other users

do their work in other areas of the worksheet.

If you go to Protect Sheet option and click upon

to protect the sheet, it will protect the whole

worksheet. Why? Because by default cells’

format is set to be locked. To change it, you need

to unlock the whole worksheet and then lock

only those cells you need. To do so, select the

whole worksheet by clicking Select All Button,

which is located in the top left corner between

first row and column A. It looks like this.

Right mouse click upon this button > Format

Cells > Protection, uncheck Locked option and

click Ok.

Next, select area that you want to protect. Right

mouse click on any cell in this area and go to the

same menu to lock the cells. Click Ok.

Finally you can go to Protect Sheet menu, type

your password if needed and click Ok. That’s it.

You have protected your work while allowing

other people to use unprotected cells in the

worksheet.

7. VIEW tab

We are almost there, so be patient! There’re two

more tabs to cover, and then it will be more

interesting and challenging. Everything I’ve

covered so far is because it’s necessary by the

two main reasons:

1. It helps to facilitate your work in Excel;

2. We will use, almost, all of these functions in

the following chapter to make something

really cool.

So let’s continue.

To make your work look more professionally

and appealing, I would recommend you to

uncheck Gridlines.

Freeze Panes is very helpful feature, especially,

if you work with big tables. It enables you to

freeze headers/labels of your table while

scrolling through the rest of the sheet.

8. DEVELOPER tab*

This is an extra tab on Excel Toolbar ribbon, and

it’s hidden in Excel setting by default. Developer

tab is designed to work with macros.

Unfortunately, we are not going to cover

macros’ topic in the book. Because macros,

which is sometimes referred as Excel VBA, is

programing language of Excel. You don’t need

to know it in the first place. Nonetheless, I’ve

decided to include this topic because you can

find another useful features such as a Combo

Box. First of all, it’s not difficult in use, and,

secondly, it can be a good solution for some

Excel reports (we’ll use it too).

Combo Box has the same purpose as Drop-down

list (the feature we have looked before). It

enables us to make a choice from a list of cells

that contain some information.

If I were to create an Excel report with a drop-

down list, I would prefer to use Combo Box

rather than Drop-down list. Why? Because

Combo Box is always visible, whereas Data

Validation is not visible unless the cell is

selected. Additionally, Combo Box looks more

accurate and more professionally. Let’s take a

close look at this example below.

As you can see, the Data Validation drop-down

list arrow is visible because I’ve sleeted the cell,

and it’s the only reason. Otherwise, we wouldn’t

see this drop-down arrow option.

To add DEVELOPER tab, go to Excel Options

> Customize Ribbon. Then choose Main Tabs

from the list and add Developer Tab.

Now you can create Combo Box. Go to Insert

option on the Developer tab menu and select

Insert.

After you created a combo box, a right mouse

click on the box and go to Properties. Then, you

will see a window like this.

You need to know the following properties from

the window:

Font – to change font and font size in the drop-

down list.

ListFillRange – this is where you need to type

in a range of cells with some criteria (e.g.

A4:A9) in order to have a drop-down list.

LinkedCell – type in a cell location (e.g. A1).

This cell will duplicate a selected value from the

drop-down list (you will see the use of this later

on).

ListRows – to display a number of rows you

want to see in the drop-down list.

In this example, I’ve selected Germany, and my

LinkedCell is A1. As a result, Germany also

appears in the LinkedCell.

After you selected the properties, turn off Design

Mode.

Step 4. Excel Formulas

Congrats! You’ve made it this far. Now we are

ready to jump on the journey of learning Excel

formulas. It was essential to walk you through

the basics of cell references, keyboard shortcuts

as well the main features of Excel Toolbar. This

knowledge will be definitely helpful in day-to-

day life. Nevertheless, in order to take you Excel

skills to the next level, you should get a sense of

how formulas work in Excel. I would say that

this is probably the most important part of this

book, so try not to lose the thread along the way.

However, before we star, let me say a few more

words.

The main purpose of this guide is to give you the

most valuable information that is needed to build

powerful reports. Most people, however, have

stereotypes that the more formulas you know,

the more you can do it Excel. Fortunately, as my

experience shows, if you focus on the formulas

that I’ve provided in this book, you will do much

better job than most of other people.

These 13 formulas, on the picture below, are the

most important from my experience, and we’re

going to cover all of them.

Sometimes, however, you may need additional

formulas. It depends on your area of

specialization (finance, statistics, etc.).

Nonetheless, it’s more than enough to perform a

vast majority of tasks. How is it possible?

Because we are going to cover not just the 13

formulas, but also how they work in

combination together. Some of the formulas

mean, almost, nothing if we use them

Prepare > CONCATENATE RIGHT LEFT

Set Conditions > IF OR AND

VLOOKUP HLOOKUP

INDEX MATCH

Find & Execute > SUMIFS COUNTIFS

Adjust > IFERROR

Find >

individually, but together they become a

powerful tool.

I have intentionally structured these formulas in

this way, so you could better understand their

meaning. As it often happens, when you work in

Excel you need:

1. Prepare a raw data, so you could use it for

already existing structure in other reports.

2. Set Conditions in formulas to extract only

necessary information from this data.

3. Find this information, and/or summarize

the information by some criteria if needed.

4. Adjust your calculations for errors if

needed.

The formulas highlighted in red are logical

functions. We usually use them together with

other formulas to adapt the formulas to some

predetermined conditions. Let’s begin.

=IF

This’s logical function and is the most important

function in Excel. If you understand it properly,

you will be able to build “monster” formulas,

and it’s not just crazy words. In the next chapter,

I will show you what it means.

We often use IF in combination together with

other formulas to be able to have several possible

outcomes. Excel formulas usually do only one

specific function (sum up, divide, etc.). In other

words, they are straightforward and boring.

Formula Outcome

However, if you integrate IF function, you can

have multiple outcomes.

Formula Outcome 1

Outcome 2

Outcome 3

IF

IF

Let’s take a look at the following example.

Suppose you have a list of 3 different kinds of

orders (order1, order2, order3). You know that

price of Order1 is 15$, Order2 is 10$, and

Order3 is 5$. However, what if the list was 1000

orders long or even bigger. It would be a

nightmare to manually set the prices for all the

orders.

In this case, you may use IF function since you

already know your conditions - the price of each

order. Type the formula as on the picture in cell

B4, and then copy it to the other cells below.

How it works? IF function has the following

structure:

=IF (logical test; value if true; value if false)

Logical test – it’s your condition. If this

condition is met, the formula will return your

TRUE value. If it’s not met, the formula will

return your FALSE value.

From our example, we have 3 different values:

15$, 10$, and 5$. So, we need to use two IF

functions to have 3 possible outcomes.

=IF(A4=”order1”;15;IF(A4=”order2”;10;5)).

If this first condition A4=”order1” is true, the

price will be 15$. If it’s not true (here we need

to expend our formula by typing another IF

function as we still have 2 possible outcomes -

10$ and 5$), the formula will apply second

condition A4=”order2”. If the second condition

is met, the price will be 10$. And If none of these

two conditions are met, the price will be 5$.

Remember: Always USE quotes (“order1”) if

you use a text condition in formula.

=OR, =AND

These are also logical functions. Sometimes, we

may use them together with IF function if we

need to adjust conditions. Let’s change a bit our

example. Order1 and Order2 costs 10$ each, and

Order3 costs 5$. In this case, we would include

OR function in IF function. Why? Because

whether it’s 2+2 or 3+1…you name it, if you

have the same result for different equations, then

use =OR function. Let’s come back to our

example.

In our example, the price will be the same – 10$,

no matter it’s Order1 or Order2.

=IF(OR(A4="order1";A4="order2");10;5)

We use AND function when we have more than

1 factor that may impact our outcome. Let’s say

you want to calculate a purchase order value

including a discount. As it may sound weird, last

night you decided that POs which are equal to or

greater than 1,000$ AND with placement in

January will get a 50% discount. In this example,

discount depends on two criteria simultaneously:

PO value and month of PO placement.

To calculate new PO value, you should use one

IF function (as you can have to possible

outcomes: the same price or new discounted

price) together with AND function (as the

possible outcomes are based on 2 criteria

simultaneously).

If value in cell B4 is greater or equal to 1,000

AND if value in cell A4 is equal to January, then

the value in cell B4 will be discounted at 50%.

Otherwise, the purchase order value stays the

same.

I hope that now you have a better understanding

of the logic behind IF, OR, AND functions. We

will use them later on to customize our report in

last chapter. So take your time to practice these

functions!

=IFERROR

This is the last logical function that we are going

to cover in this book. Sometimes you may

encounter errors in your formulas. One of the

common errors is when you divide some value

by zero or zero by zero, you, usually, get

something like this #DIV/0!. I prefer not to see

this error in my reports. Therefore, I use

IFERROR formula.

For instance, if we write the following equation

=100/0, we will get #DIV/0!. In this case, I

would write the formulas as the following

example =IFERROR(100/0;"").

IFERROR function looks at your equation and if

there is an error, it will bring the value,

reference, or even formula that you provided.

In our example, we provided no value because

this “” stands for no action (blank cell). So, as

the result, we will get the cell blank.

=CONCATENATE, =RIGHT, =LEFT

CONCATENATE joins context from several

cells into one cell. RIGHT and LEFT functions

extract a specified number of characters whether

from the left or the right side of a text. We,

usually, use these functions to prepare our report

before we can use other formulas, such as

VLOOKUP. We will talk about vlookup soon,

but, first, let’s continue with these formulas.

Let’s say you have two different types of

strategy (local & global), and you have a list of

various projects. You want to create a new

column that will include a strategy type and a

project name in one cell.

To do this, bring CONCATENATE function and

refer to the first text you want to join (A4), then

you can leave a space between the two joint cells

by typing “ “. It will make the context easier to

read. Lastly, in the third text window of the

formula, refer to the second text you want to join

(B4).

Now, let’s assume you decided to use

abbreviations instead of the full names. You

want to use L for local and G for global projects

and numbers to specify the project name.

In this example, we need to extract one character

from the left side of cells with type of strategies

(=LEFT(A4;1)), and one character from the right

side of cells with project names (=RIGHT(B4;1)).

Then we need to join these formulas together

(=CONCATENATE(LEFT(A4;1);RIGHT(B4;1))).

=VLOOKUP, =HLOOKUP

I’m keeping my promises. Now, it’s time for

these “giants”. We use these functions to find

information based on our criteria within a

selected array. V stands for vertical look-up and

H for horizontal look-up.

=VLOOKUP

Lookup_value is a value you want to find (e.g.

your criteria).

Table_array is a diapason of cells where you are

going to search for a value.

Col_index_num is where you have to type in a

serial number of the column (1, 2, 3, etc.) that

contains information you want to extract. If there

is a match between your lookup value and a

lookup value in the leftmost column of the table

array, the formula will return a value from the

column you selected.

Range_lookup is where you need to put either 0

or 1. Zero stands for an exact match, and one

stands for the closest match. We, usually, want

an exact match.

Let’s take a look at the example below. You have

created a table with two columns: Project &

Costs.

You want to find costs of each of the projects

from the database you just received.

To do so, bring VLOOKUP formula to cell B4

and refer to the project name you want to find

(A4).

Then select a Table Array that contains this

information (i.e. your database).

There is, however, one moment that you must

keep in mind. VLOOKUP formula looks for a

value in the leftmost column of an array and

then returns a value in the same row from the

column you selected.

So, you need to select your Table Array like on

the picture below.

Notice: I started not from Country but from

Project column, which is our lookup value.

Finally, we need to type in Col_index_num and

Range_lookup. Since we are interested in costs,

we need to type serial number 3 (If you count the

columns from the left side of the selected array,

Costs are in third column). To find exact match,

type 0.

Notice: Don’t forget to fix the array by inserting

dollar signs because you don’t want this array

to slide down while coping this formula down the

table.

HLOOKUP works the same way as VLOOKUP

except it looks for a value in the top row of an

array and then returns a value from the row you

specified.

Remember that the only drawback of LOOKUP

functions is that they look for a value in the

leftmost column or in the top row of an array. So

make sure that the Table_array you have

selected starts with the column or the row that

contains your Lookup_value. Otherwise, the

formula won’t work. That’s why, in some

situations, I prefer to use combination of INDEX

and MATCH functions.

Important to note: Sometimes you won’t have

a lookup value in your array. That’s why we

need to use CONCATENATE, RIGHT, and

LEFT formulas to create this lookup value. We

will face this situation in last chapter where we

will work, sweat, and tears to create our reports.

=INDEX & MATCH

Combination of INDEX and MATCH functions

is another way to look up for values. It’s a bit

trickier than VLOOUP/HLOOKUP, but gives

you more freedom as to how to select an array.

If we go to the previous example, here is how

you would use the formulas.

First, start with INDEX function to select an

array, which is your database.

See the difference from VLOOKUP. I have

selected the whole array, as I don’t have the

restriction to start with the column that contains

a lookup value.

Second, type in MATCH function. Select a

project you are looking for (your lookup value),

and then an array that contains this lookup value

from the database. Type 0 to indicate that you

are looking for an exact match.

Lastly, type column number that contains costs.

In this case, it’s 4.

In the first times, index-match formula may be

little confusing, but you will see the benefits as

soon as you get used to it.

=SUMIFS

SUMIFS is advanced version of SUMIF

formula. They do absolutely the same – that is,

sum up the values in a range that meets a

specified criterion. However, with SUMIFS you

can use more than just one criterion. Since we

often use multiple criteria to find necessary

information, there’s no need to clog your brain

with such formulas as SUMIF, COUNTIF etc.

Let’s take a closer look at the example below.

Suppose you still have the same database. Now,

however, you wish to know how much we spent

in total on the Global and Local strategies. This

is an example of one criterion (type of strategy)

SUMIFS formula.

To use SUMIFS formula, you need to fill, at

least, the following three fields.

Sum_range is a range of cells you want to sum

up (costs – $G$4:$G$9).

Criteria_range1 is a range of cells that contains

your first criterion (type of strategy – $F$4:$F$9).

Criteria1 – it’s your condition in form of a

number, text, or a cell reference (cell A4).

Don’t forget to fix with dollar signs your sum

and criteria ranges since you will copy the

formula down the table.

=COUNTIFS

We, usually, use COUNTIFS to count the

number of cells that meet a particular condition

or criteria. For instance, we can use the formula

to count how many times we meet Global

strategy in column F.

To use the formula just select a rage of cells

(Strategy type) and a criteria you want to be

counted (“Global”). In this example, the answer

is 3 times.

However, I prefer this formula not because it can

count the number of cells with specified criteria,

but because you can use this formula as a

substitute of =RANK formula. Moreover,

COUNTIFS can do ranking in a list of value

based on multiple criteria, whereas RANK

formula does only ranking of a number relatively

other values in the list.

Let’s say we want to rank the costs of the

projects, from the most to the least expensive. If

we used RANK formula, we would have the

following results.

However, what if we want to rank the costs

based on not only its value but also based on its

strategy type. Since it’s two criteria ranking

situation, RANK formula isn’t applicable.

Nevertheless, we can still find a solution if we

slightly adjust COUNTIFS formula.

First, however, let’s see how it works without

any adjustments.

Since we have counted how many times a

specific strategy type along with its costs is met,

the result is 1 for all the strategies because there

is only one Local strategy that costs 120, only

one Global strategy that costs 50, etc.

However, we still want to rank the costs within

its strategy type. To do so, we need to adjust the

last expression in the formula (l2 to “>”&l2).

The logic of this expression implies: How many

values in the Costs range ($I$2:$I$7) within a

certain strategy type ($H$2:$H$7;H2) are

greater than a selected value (“>”&l2).

To finish the formula, close the brackets and add

1 to convert the formula in ranking type. If you

don’t add 1, the formula will show that Global

strategy that costs 210 is equal to 0, Global

strategy that costs 50 is equal to 1, and etc. It’s

because there’s no another Global strategy that

greater than 210, and there is only one value

(210), in global type of strategy, that is greater

than 50.

I understand that it may be difficult for you to

follow the logic, however, if this formula wasn’t

so valuable, I wouldn’t even bother you. From

my experience, it’s very useful formula to rank

values at multiple levels. To give you a better

understanding of the material that we have

covered in the book, I would like you to join me

in the next chapter.

“Any fool can know.

The point is to understand.”

- Albert Einstein

Step 5. Designing Reports in Excel

If you got to this point, you already have a solid

foundation in order to take your skills to the next

level. There’s, however, one more step to make

it possible.

In this chapter, I’ve prepared for you a practical

example where we going to use, almost,

everything we have covered so far. As you work

through this last part, along the way, sometimes,

you may be feeling overwhelmed and confused

because of the multiple steps we are going to

cover at one time. However, it’s just a natural

part of the learning process, and I want to

challenge you a little bit that you could apply the

knowledge in real life situations.

Since the beginning of the book, I was

mentioning that we are going to learn how to

build and design powerful reports in Excel.

Reports that can help us in business and\or in

work. Finally, this is the time to make our last

step towards success.

Designing such a report can be stressful and

time-consuming, especially, if you are a

beginner in Excel. However, you are not a

beginning anymore. You did this long way to

become an advanced user. Furthermore, once

you built this report or reports, you can use it

again and again. The only thing you will have to

do is to update the input data in the report, and

all the rest will be done automatically. As we

walk through the process, don’t try to memorize

it, but rather try to grasp the logic behind it.

At some point throughout the chapter, you may

need to use that Excel spreadsheet that I’ve

created for you. If you didn’t download it yet,

here’s the link.

So let’s get it started.


Assume that every week I receive a raw report

that looks like the following one.

This report is 1150 rows long and has 8 columns

with different types of information: Department;

Country; Product Category, Item, Supplier,

Order type; Order Amount.

I need to analyse the data every week. So as not

to do the same every time, I will rather create a

template in Excel file that will do various

analysis of this data for me.

The data, I receive weekly, will be our INPUT

file. Every time I update the file, all the rest

should be done autonomously.

First, let’s create a list of various analysis I’ve

planned to do based on the information in the

input file.

1. I need to consolidate the orders in a more

convenient way to analyse business volume.

2. I want to create a special report to track

category managers’ performance at all levels of

the company’s product categorization in order to

identify problem areas.

3. I want to create a dynamic report with a graph

to analyse the problem areas and its impact on

the business.

To do such reports, we will use the formulas and

tools that we have covered in this book as well

follow the next steps that I have mentioned in

chapter 4.

1. Prepare a raw data, so you could use it for

already existing structure in other reports.

2. Set Conditions in formulas to extract only

necessary information from this data.

3. Find this information, and/or summarize the

information by some criteria if needed.

4. Adjust your calculations for errors if needed.

Prepare > CONCATENATE RIGHT LEFT

Set Conditions > IF OR AND

VLOOKUP HLOOKUP

INDEX MATCH

Find & Execute > SUMIFS COUNTIFS

Adjust > IFERROR

Find >

So let’s get it started and prepare our input file

to be able to extract all the information we need.

First, we need to create an Excel Table with our

input data and then add to this table 2 additional

columns in order to categorize Countries and

Order Type information.

We have data for 15 countries and 3 types of

orders: Type 1, Type 2, Refunded orders.

First, let’s start with countries. I would like to

categorize all the countries in two groups: EU

and Other.

To do so, let’s write a logical formula in cell J20.

=IF(OR(C20="Albania";C20="Czech Republic";

C20="Germany";C20="Greece";C20="Ireland";

C20="Italy";C20="Netherlands";C20="Portugal";

C20="Romania";C20="UK";C20="Spain");

"Europe";"Other")

If the above countries are found, they will be

called Europe, otherwise, they will be called

Other.

As concerns types of orders, I would like to put

them into two groups as well: Received and

Lost.

In cell K20, we will write the next formula.

=IF(OR(H20="Type 1";H20="Type 2");

"Received";"Lost")

If Order Type is Type 1 or Type 2, we will call

them Received orders, otherwise, it will be Lost

orders. Now we are ready to create our first

analysis of business volume. This first analysis

we will do based on the PivotTable that

shouldn’t be a problem for you anymore.

Select the table and click on insert PivotTable. I

prefer to display the data in the following way.

Let’s continue and move to the next stage:

Create a special report to track category

managers’ performance at all levels of the

company’s product categorization in order to

identify problem areas.

First, however, we need to create a table

template for this report. I decided to go with the

following type.

As you can see, performance will be measured

at different levels of product categories and

countries. It’s a good way to structure

information in a such way for identifying

problem areas. Moreover, I have created

Subcategory display of information, which you

can see if you ungroup the columns.

In this way, you also have access to even more

detailed information. However, there is a

question, How will we measure manager’s

performance? Well, I decided to call it Success

Rate of Order Intake because I’m interested to

know what is a percentage of received orders in

total possible order intake.

If our received orders is sum of Type 1 and Type

2 orders, then the total possible order intake will

be sum of Type 1, Type 2, and Refunded orders.

Let’s draw a formula.

𝑆𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 =𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟∗ 100, %

As you remember from the book, in order to find

a value in database (input file) and sum up a

range of values based on specified criteria, we

use SUMIFS formula. However, we will use

several SUMIFS formulas with different criteria

since our newly designed report contains

information at different levels (department,

category, subcategory).

Yes, I know that it may take quite a time to

organize the formulas in the right order, but you

need to do it only one time because formulas

remain connected to the input file, which you

can easily update (simply erase the old data and

paste a new one).

Let me give you a quick example on how you

would calculate success rate for Germany,

Category 1.

You will use two SUMIFS formulas. One to

calculate nominator (received order) and another

to calculate dominator (total order). \

To calculate total order we will use 2 criteria

ranges from our input file: Product Category and

Country. For these criteria ranges we need to

specify our criteria that are Germany ($A7) and

Category 1 (F$6).

Notice: I have fixed the cell references by

column for Germany and by row for Category 1.

It’s because we will copy the formula to find

values for other countries and categories.

To select the Sum range and Criteria ranges, we

need to go to our INPUT file worksheet and

select it from there.

Don’t forget to fix the ranges both by column

and by row.

To calculate received order we will use 3

criteria ranges from input file: Product

Category, Country, and Received_Lost order.

The formula is the same. Just select one more

Criteria range from the input file and type in

your third criteria that is “Received”.

Finally, in order to get the Success Rate, divide

the formula with received orders by formula

with total orders.

Don’t forget to change the cell format to

percentage type.

You may also include IFERROR formulas to

avoid #DIV/0! since for some product categories

we have zero order intake.

=IFERROR(SUMIFS('INPUT file'!$I$20:$I$1150;

'INPUT file'!$C$20:$C$1150;$A7;

'INPUT file'!$D$20:$D$1150;F$6;

'INPUT file'!$K$20:$K$1150;"received")/

SUMIFS('INPUT file'!$I$20:$I$1150;

'INPUT file'!$C$20:$C$1150;$A7;

'INPUT file'!$D$20:$D$1150;F$6);””)

Here is my final result.

As you can see, I also added some Conditional

Formatting to spot problem areas.

Now, let’s move to our final stage: Creating a

dynamic report with a graph to analyse the

problem areas and its impact on the business. At

his point, you may have two questions.

It’s going to be the most challenging part, but the

most useful part of this report because analysis

of problem areas has to be first – efficient, and

second – simple and fast. Nevertheless, I’ve no

doubts that you are able to do it. Just follow the

process and pay your attention.

First, however, you may ask, What kind of

problem areas do we want to target and How

are we going to analyse them?

Well, both are are very solid questions. The first

question is quite intuitive. In fact, Condition

Formatting function has already did it for us.

Usually, the problem areas are the areas

highlighted in red, dark orange, and yellow. This

is where our success rate is not strong enough as

it could have been.

To answer the second question, you have to dig

dipper. How deep depends on the available

information. In our case, it’s just one file that we

received (input file), and I see that the type of

ordered items and supplier name are the most

detailed information.

Apart from this, we can create some additional

indicators. At this point, you may already have

some ideas in mind, and this is great. Because,

as a matter of fact, in order to really succeed in

Excel or any other type of business, you have to

not only know formulas and functions, but also

be creative.

Let’s proceed to the report. I decided that the

analysis of problem areas has to be as fast and as

simple as possible. Moreover, I want it to be

dynamic (i.e. change under given conditions)

and be shown on a chart.

First, however, let’s create our output data

window. I came up with the following idea.

I want to be able to select a country, department,

and product category and then have top 10

refunded order amounts ranked by their values

(from highest to lowest). In addition to that, I

need information on subcategory name, item,

supplier, and success rate impact.

Success rate impact is what we are going to

calculate ourselves. The formula’s logic is very

straightforward. Basically, you need to slightly

modify Success Rate formula that we used

before.

𝑆𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡 =

(𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟+𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡)

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟−

𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟

Order Amount is an amount from the Top 10 list.

Apart from the output data window, I want to

have a dynamic waterfall chart that should be

automatically adjusted according to a selected

country and department. We will come to this

part later on, for now, however, let’s get started

with the table.

First, let’s go to our Input table and create two

more additional columns in order to be able to

realize our plans.

As you remember, I need to extract top 10

refunded order amounts.

So, first, we need to rank our refunded order

amount in the input file by using COUNTIFS

formula

If you look at these combo boxes with drop-

down lists again, you see that there’re 3 criteria:

Country, Department, and Product Category.

Therefore, the ranking has to be done in a

particular country and a particular product

category (it’s not necessary to rank at

Department level since product category is the

next level of the hierarchy).

Let’s create our ranking formula.

=COUNTIFS($K$20:$K$1169;"Lost";$C$20:$C$116

9;$C20;$D$20:$D$1169;$D20;$I$20:$I$1169;">"&$I

20)+1

First, we said that we want to rank only Lost

orders (range K). Next, we rank at country level

(range C). Then, at Product Category level

(range D). Lastly, we are ranking the order

amounts based on its value (range I).

Now, let’s create our last column for lookup

values. As you should have guessed, we will use

VLOOKUP formula in order to find and return

values to Top 10 list table. You should also

remember that in order to use VLOOKUP we

need to have lookup values in the leftmost

column of the table. That’s what we are going to

do in the next minutes.

To create lookup values in the input table, we

have to join Country, Department, Product

Category, Rank, and Received_Lost columns

together.

Notice: My lookup value in the leftmost column

of the table as I’m going to use VLOOKUP

formulas. Yes, I could put it to the right side of

the table and then use INDEX&MATCH

instead, but for this example I’ve decided to go

with vlookup.

As you remember, apart from having lookup

values in the leftmost column a table array, we

also need to have a lookup value that have to be

found in this array.

For such a purpose, I have prepared a special

template. Because our lookup values have to be

dynamic (i.e. constantly change).

We will create these values in column B. Before,

however, we can do it, we need to create several

“special” cells (C2, D2, E2), which are

highlighted in grey, to have information for the

lookup values. So let’s continue to walk thought

the template.

In column F, we have a list of all our countries.

In column G – Departments, and in column H –

Product categories. I will use these ranges of

cells to create drop-down lists in the Combo

Boxes.

Notice: I have formulas in column H. It’s

because I want to see only those categories, in

the drop-down list, that are related to a selected

department.

Thus, I wrote the following formulas.

In cell H3

=IF($D$2="Department 1";"Category 1";"Category 4")

In cell H4


In cell H5


The formulas are very simple, and we went

thought IF formula before, so I will continue

with the template.

Let’s come back to our “special” cells (C2, D2,

and E2).

Cell $D$2 is a linked cell in Department combo

box.

Cell C2 is a linked cell in Country combo box.

And cell E2 is linked to Product Category combo

box.

Now we have everything we need to create the

lookup value. I’ve told you that later we will

come back to this topic, but of course you might

forget that is absolutely normal. So, if it’s the

case, I would suggest you to go through that

topic again. Now, however, you will open again

that worksheet you created before and try to

make your own combo box with a drop-down

list.

Join cells C2, D2, E2, AN7, and text “lost”.

=CONCATENATE($C$2;$D$2;$E$2;REPORT!$AN7;

”lost”)

AN7 is a cell with the first rank number from our

Top 10 Refunded Order Amount report.

“Lost” – we need to include this phrase because

we are interested only in Refunded Orders.

After multiple manipulations, we finally

managed to create our lookup values. Finally, we

are ready to use VLOOKUP formula in order to

fill the Top 10 table with necessary information.

So let’s continue with the table.

Go to the table and type VLOOKUP formula.

First, refer to a lookup value that we’ve just

created (they are in a range B2:B11 on “INPUT

file” sheet).

Next, select a table array (also from input file)

by selecting the whole table or by typing its

name (I simply called the table INPUT).

Finally, type in a column serial number that

contain Order Amount and after type zero to

have an exact match.

Since lookup value is fixed by column and table

array both by column and by row, you can now

copy the formula to other cells. However, don’t

forget to adjust the col_index_num while coping

the formula to subcategory, item, and supplier

columns.

Now, every time you change country,

department, product category, in the combo

boxes above, the information in the top 10 list

change accordingly. We still, however, need to

find Success Rate Impact.

The formula is going to be long, but nothing is

complicated. We will use SUMIFS formulas as

we did it to calculate Success Rate of Order

Intake.

𝑆𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡 =

(𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟+𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡)

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟−

𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟

Country and product category criteria for the

SUMIFS formula are in cells C2 and E2.

The first part of the formula will look like this.

=(SUMIFS('INPUT file'!$I$20:$I$1169; Order Amount Range

'INPUT file'!$D$20:$D$1169; Product Category Range

'INPUT file'!$E$2; Reference to product category criteria

'INPUT file'!$C$20:$C$1169; Country Range

'INPUT file'!$C$2; Reference to country criteria

'INPUT file'!$K$20:$K$1169; Received_Lost range

"received") Criteria that says that we only need Received orders

+AO7)/

SUMIFS('INPUT file'!$I$20:$I$1169; Order Amount range

'INPUT file'!$D$20:$D$1169; Product Category range

'INPUT file'!$E$2; Reference to category criteria


'INPUT file'!$C$2) Reference to country criteria

Cell AO7 is a cell from Top 10 table that

contains refunded order amount.

The second part of the formula will be the

following one.

-SUMIFS('INPUT file'!$I$20:$I$1169; Order Amount Range




'INPUT file'!$C$2; Reference to country criteria

'INPUT file'!$K$20:$K$1169; Received_Lost range

"received")/ Criteria that says that we only need Received orders

SUMIFS('INPUT file'!$I$20:$I$1169; Order Amount range




'INPUT file'!$C$2) Reference to country criteria

Here is my final result.

Lastly, I would like to build a dynamic waterfall

chart. Let’s get it started.

First, we need to create a data table for the chart.

I’ve prepared the following template.

To build the waterfall chart, we will be using

Stacked Column chart.

It will have 5 columns: Total Order amount,

Received Order amount, and Lost Orders at

product category levels.

This chart has to be dynamic, i.e. change

accordingly to the selected conditions in the

Combo Boxes. To do so, not only values in the

chart, but also axis labels have to change

accordingly.

In cell A2 (chart template), I put the following

formula.

=CONCATENATE("Total Order Amount";"_";'INPUT

file'!C2)

So, as soon as we switch to another country in

the combo box, this label will change

respectively.

In cells C2, D2, E2, I also put formulas.

C2 =IF('INPUT file'!$D$2="Department 1";"Category

1";"Category 4")

D2 =IF('INPUT file'!$D$2="Department 1";"Category

2";"Category 5")

E2 =IF('INPUT file'!$D$2="Department 1";"Category

3";"Category 6")

The logic here is the same. Now, it’s time to

create formulas, in the chart template, in order to

find appropriate values.

First, we need to find the order values, and we

will use SUMIFS formulas again. The process is

almost the same as we did it to calculate Success

Rate Impact, so, at this point, you should have

an idea of what to do (check the Excel

spreadsheet to see what exactly I did there).

Second, we need to calculate base values in

order to be able to build the waterfall chart. To

calculate a base value for received orders, deduct

the received order amount from the total order

amount (=A3-B3). To calculate a base value for

Category 1, deduct the received order amount

and Category 1 lost order amount from the total

order amount (=A3-B3-C3), and so on. You get

the idea. Finally, we should arrive to zero.

Third, let’s find a percentage of each of the

order amounts in the total order amount. To

calculate a percentage of the received orders,

simply divide the received order amount by the

total order amount (B3/$A3), then copy and

paste the formula to cells C5, D5, and E5. You

should have 100% in total because, as you

remember, total order amount is equal to sum of

received and lost orders. Let’s build the chart.

A right mouse click on the chart and go to select

data. Select first Legend Entries (series) and

click on edit. Then, select a range that is our base

values. Click Ok.

After, add another Legend Entries and select

order amounts.

Now, go to Axis Labels and click on edit. Select

your labels from the same table.

Finally, you should get a chart like this.

The red zones are our base values, and we don’t

want to see them on the chart. So, select the red

zones, right mouse click and go to Format Data

Series. Next, go to Fill & Line option and select

No Fill. Then, go to Borders and select No Line.

Now, it’s more like a waterfall chart, but still is

not perfect. Let’s go to formatting again. Delete

Gridlines and Left axis. Change columns’

colour, so you could easily distinguish between

the different types of orders. You can also

decrease the Gap Width between the columns.

Probably, it’s not that perfect, but we are not

working on the best design project. Most

importantly that we can see where are total

orders, received orders, and lost orders on the

graph.

Finally, let’s add Data Labels for both order

amounts and base values. Right mouse click on

the chart and select add Data labels.

Delete a data label of base value on Total Order

Amount column (it’s equal to zero, and we don’t

need it anyway). Then, one by one, select the

remaining data labels of the base values and refer

them to the cells where we have calculated the

order percentages (chart table). Also, add Chart

Title and refer its name to Department Combo

Box linked cell (='INPUT file'!$D$2). That’s it.

We’ve created a dynamic waterfall chart.

Now, not only that table with top 10 refunded

order amounts but also the chart will be

automatically updated every time you change

criteria in the Combo Boxes.

Rank Order Amount Sabcategory Item SupplierSuccess Rate

Impact

1 2.899.254 Subcategory 19 Item 80 Supplier 845 10,5%



4 624.941 Subcategory 19 Item 80 Supplier 847 2,3%







Total 10.043.800 36,5%

TOP 10 Refunded Order Amounts

Spain

Department 2

Category 6

Country >

Department >

Product Category >

39.460.659 25.825.750

393.056 2.855.70710.386.146

65,4% 1,0% 7,2% 26,3%

Total OrderAmount_Spain

Received Order Category 4 Category 5 Category 6

Department 2

So let’s summarize what we’ve accomplished in

this chapter. By having only one meaningless

data report (input file) and few formulas and

functions in hand, we’ve managed to create three

essential reports to analyse business

performance from various angles, such as

business volume analysis, performance analysis

at product categories level, and analysis of

problem areas.

No matter what kind of business you are in, more

likely, you will need to use the same formulas

and function to find, group, and then identify

weak areas in order to take appropriate actions.

Often, you will have to share your findings with

others. So, make sure that your reports are easily

operated and intelligible. Most importantly,

however, that you already have all the necessary

skills, at this point, to do it. You have to be proud

of yourself because I’m proud of you. You’ve

gone through the whole process – from getting

to know Excel basics right up to creating quite

complicated reports. Pat yourself on the back

because you are awesome!

Final Words to Say

Congratulations! You have made it to this point.

Throughout the book, we have talked about cell

references, shortcuts, toolbar features, formulas

and even tried these out on a practical example.

You may have even come up with some new

ideas along the way. That is exactly what I was

trying to do. I hope that the guide helped you to

discover different options in terms of how you

can use the formulas and functions to build your

own reports. Excel is not complicated at all, or

something that you need to spend a lot of time

on in order to master it. My advice is just try to

emphasize on the material in the book, and you

will see the difference in your progress.

If you have any questions and/or need an advice,

feel free to email me at:

[email protected]


I also would love to hear from you:

What was the most interesting topic for you in

this book? If you could change anything related

to this book what would it be?

What is your biggest challenge in Excel? Do you

use anything to help you with this challenge

already? What do you wish was better?

What is the most important activity related to

Excel that you do? Is there anything else you

would like to know?

Please let me know. I will be very appreciative.

Thank You So Much for taking time out of your

day to read it! I hope that this book helped you

to understand Excel and, from now on, you will

apply these insights along your way to benefit

both in business and in work. I wish you nothing

less than success!

Kyrylo Iakovlev

excel manual: the all-in-one guide to learn & master microsoft excel for both business &...

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