The ultimate guide to get started in Data using Microsoft Excel
Have you ever got tough at handling large data, Data from your shop sales or employees, or even your house financial budget data?
Yes, any information can be converted to data, you can even prepare your daily spending amount on an excel sheet and use it for analysis.
To start with this we need to learn about what Excel is and how you can easily work on it without wasting a lot of time.
The Microsoft Excel program is actually a spreadsheet made up of individual cells that may be used to create functions, formulae, tables, and graphs for organizing and analyzing vast amounts of data and information. Excel acts like a database, with information, formulas, and functions organized into rows (represented by numbers) and columns (represented by letters) that may be used to do sophisticated computations. Excel is still a widely used tool that can be found on almost every home and corporate computer on the planet.
Why do we use Excel?
Simply said, Excel is the most convenient way to organize and manage any data, which is why so many organizations rely on it. It allows for complete customization and flexibility in how it is used. Even top companies ask their employees to be efficient at Excel, at some or other point you need to deal with Excel.
Another reason to adopt Excel is its ease of use. A user may open a worksheet, start inputting data and begin calculating and analyzing data with almost no training or experience.
The following are the top five reasons where you can use Excel:
Organize financial information
To keep track of contact information
To keep employee information organized
to keep track of personal information
To work as a calculator
What are the most important functions?
In Excel spreadsheets, there are hundreds of formulas and combinations of formulas that can be used, but it’s hard to remember all these formulas
So we’ve focused on the most significant and fundamental ones.
The most important formulas include:
=SUM() — adds a series of cells together
=IF() — checks if a condition is met and returns a value if YES and a value if NO
=MIN() — returns the minimum value in a series
=MAX() — returns the maximum value in a series
=LARGE() — returns the k-th largest value in a series
=SMALL() — returns the k-th smallest value in a series
=AVERAGE() — calculates the average of a series of cells
=COUNT() — counts the number of cells in a range that contain numbers
=VLOOKUP() — looks for a value in the leftmost column of a table and returns in the same row from a column you specify
I had an interview for a Data Analyst position a few months back, I was shocked by the technical interviewer. Most of their questions were based on Excel, they asked me to state a few business cases where Excel is used.
Here is a list of a few cases at which Excel can be used. But keep in mind that these are simply instances. Because Excel is so versatile, the options are endless:
Keep track of sales by a customer from month to month;
Monitor customer payments to ensure that none are late;
Keep track of expenses and assign them to particular employees;
Calculate hours worked per employee for monthly payroll;
Calculating monthly payments on the office mortgage;
Creating graphs or charts to explain company performance over time;
Estimate monthly sales for the next three years based on historical data; and
Assign projects and tasks to employees in a centralized location.
Shortcuts for Excel
Learning Keyboard shortcuts is a real talent and that does require a lot of time, what if we could have a possible list of all keyboard shortcuts that are used in Excel.
Do you remember that I mentioned, How you can Excel without wasting your time?
Okay, take a look at these most important shortcuts to learn before using Excel
F2 Edit active cell
F4 Toggle references
CTRL + 1 Format Cells
CTRL + C Copy
CTRL + V Paste
CTRL + R Fill right
CTRL + D Fill down
ALT + = Auto Sum
ALT, I, R Insert row
ALT, I, C Insert column
Excel Tutorial
Microsoft Excel Tutorial for Beginners
When I started Excel long years back, I had zero ideas about all the shortcuts and functions used in Excel, so I had to struggle to work on Excel. But now Excel seems to be one of the easiest tools for basic data analysis. Learning all the shortcuts and functions makes it easier.
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