Microsoft Excel tips and tricks for accountants

TOPICS

August 1, 2020

Understanding PivotTables and Excel’s Recommended Charts

These quick tips related to PivotTables and choosing the best charts for your data can help you become more efficient in Excel.

July 14, 2020

Use Excel’s sparklines to quickly show trends in data

Simple to create, sparklines are tiny graphs that help you make sense of data at a glance.

July 1, 2020

Creating a data-entry form in Excel

The use of a data-entry form makes data entry faster and more efficient because you don’t have to go to multiple different cells to enter data, row by row.

June 9, 2020

View and edit 2 worksheets in the same workbook side by side

How to view and edit two worksheets from the same Excel workbook side-by-side.

June 1, 2020

Reaching the SUMIF

The SUMIF function provides a quick and simple way to create a sum based on a specific criterion, such as the type of audit.

April 14, 2020

Use Excel’s AutoSum button to add up rows and columns with just one click

Want to quickly add up rows or columns of data in your gradebook (or elsewhere)? The AutoSum function makes it easy.

March 10, 2020

Sort by color to group highlighted cells in Excel

Highlighting cells with different colors can help you quickly identify information in a spreadsheet. Excel also lets you sort by color to easily group all the information you’ve highlighted with a given color. Learn how.

March 1, 2020

Keeping up with deadlines using a dynamic spreadsheet

Microsoft Excel can keep track of deadline information in several ways.

March 1, 2020

The IF function mastered

Once you master the IF function, you will wonder how you ever lived without it.

March 1, 2020

Excel vs. Tableau: See your data differently

This article compares the data visualization program Tableau to Excel, examines their relative strengths, and provides a simple walk-through on how to use Tableau.

February 11, 2020

Use Excel’s Flash Fill to automatically fill in data quickly

How to use Excel’s Flash Fill feature, including a keyboard shortcut for both Windows and Excel for Mac.

February 1, 2020

The easy way to join text in Excel

If you have Excel 2019 or Excel 365, you can use the function TEXTJOIN to quickly join text in one cell and separate the text with any delimiter, even if you have many rows or columns of data to join.

February 1, 2020

Replace Excel errors using this function

IFERROR can be used to eliminate formula errors and replace those errors with something else.

January 14, 2020

Use IFS function to calculate letter grades in Excel

Added by Microsoft in 2016, the IFS function replaces the need for multiple nested IF statements. You can put all your conditions (percentage grade cutoffs in this example) in one function, making it easier to follow.

January 1, 2020

2 simple ways to visualize data

Supplementing spreadsheet data with visual representation aids the user in identifying trends and patterns that may not be evident otherwise.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Flip out with the latest Tech Q&A

The September Technology Q&A column shows how to create dynamic to-do lists with Excel's checkboxes and also how to set up multifactor authentication texts that don't rely on phones. Flip through both items and view a video walkthrough in our digital format.