Preface

Microsoft Excel is arguably one of the most under-utilized applications on the market. By under-utilized I do not mean under-used, but of all its functions, people may only know about 20% and use 5%. While I do not have the numbers to backup this claim, it seems like a fair statement between assisting co-workers and the functionality I constantly seem to be finding on my own.

There is no way I could cover all, or even dent, the functions of Excel in this article. So as I was planning, I wanted to develop a “plan of action” to show people how to do the most common tasks an Excel user might perform, as well as produce something you can actually use. After thinking about it, I narrowed it down to the two most common tasks I have dealt with, and find the most useful:

• Sorting Data


• Utilizing Formulas

I will go over a detailed procedure of how to do both using 60 screen shots so you can easily follow along. I will be using Excel from Office 2003, but the procedure should be virtually the same for Office XP and Office 2000 editions. Additionally, Open Office users will have a similar process, however the screen shots will most likely be significantly different.

Table of Contents

1. Sorting Data in Excel


2. Utilizing Excel Formulas
   
   
   
   1. Initializing and formatting our data sheet
   
   
   2. Creating and using our data entry sheet
   
   
   3. Creating sheets for additional accounts
   
   
   4. Entering transactions and “balancing” our finances
   
   
   5. Creating a summary sheet
   
   
   6. Creating a chart to display our summary


3. Closing