Spreadsheets are an essential tool for work, because they create well-organized charts. For the most part, spreadsheet programs can also use mathematical formulas to create accurate views of financial information. Follow these steps to make a spreadsheet that's easy to use and read.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Part I: Spreadsheet Programs
Step 1. There are several popular options for spreadsheet programs
Choose one of the following, based on your computer and Internet access.
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Use Microsoft Excel. This is the most commonly used by businesses purchasing a license for all computers in their office. It is easy to use and there is a great deal of useful advice for its use available on the Internet.
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Download Apache Open Office. This is the open source spreadsheet program based in many respects on Microsoft Excel. Many of the Excel tutorials can help you use Open Office Calc. The program is free for personal use.
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Use the Google Docs / Drive spreadsheet. If you want cloud access to your spreadsheet, perhaps accessible by multiple users who can edit it, then this is the best choice. This is a free service associated with the Google account. Go to Google.com/Drive
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Use iWork, Apple's program. The spreadsheet program is called "Numbers". It may not be as powerful as other spreadsheets, but it works for most people who use it for personal use.
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Method 2 of 5: Part II: Data Sheet
Step 1. Find a reason to use a spreadsheet
This can be anything from financial matters, such as a budget, to the inventory of completed jobs. The success of your spreadsheet will depend not only on how straightforward it is, but also on how useful it is.
If you need to do a spreadsheet on something that is new to you, you can also search online for an Excel template for that topic. You can also look under "File" and see if there is a "Template" option
Step 2. Prepare the data to be entered
You may need to collect receipts, booklets, and other information on your desk in order to complete your spreadsheet.
Method 3 of 5: Part III: Preparation of the Spreadsheet
Step 1. Open a new spreadsheet
Click "New" or "Create" in most programs.
If you find the need for a descriptive section, you can leave several lines of space under the title for other text areas
Step 2. Enter a title for the spreadsheet in the first row, starting with cell A1
You can come back to it later to format it and merge cells.
Step 3. Choose the headings at the top of each column
Make sure you are accurate and use common sense so as not to confuse the reader.
- Try listing the trends you want to track after you've collected your data and before you start entering it into your spreadsheet. You can choose headings such as date, product, expense, cost, budgeted cost, savings, discount, or supplier.
- Make sure the leftmost column identifies the element you will use to split and fill out the spreadsheet. It's how you separate the spreadsheet into meaningful lines.
- For example, if you are doing a budget, you could include the expense category in the left column. Then you can enter information about costs or months in the other columns. If you intend to track sales of representatives, then the left column could be "Representative Names".
Step 4. Add a column "Total" to the end of the table
If you are calculating the total expenses for a month, you may want a row labeled "Total" below the spreadsheet, where you could add items in the columns. If you are adding up the sales contributions of reps, you can insert a column at the end of the other columns for the total sales
Step 5. Enter your data row by row into the spreadsheet
Leave the total of columns blank for now.
Method 4 of 5: Part IV: Formatting the Spreadsheet
Step 1. Format the headings so they are easier to read
Highlight all those in the first row. Choose "Font" or "Formatting" and click "Bold" to make the headings larger.
Highlight your title. Choose a font size and formatting, such as bold or italic, to make it stand out
Step 2. Align the data
Select all cells in the worksheet. Click the Align Right button to insert the data in the right part of your cell.
You can also choose to align them center or left. Right alignment is most commonly used with spreadsheets
Step 3. Go to the File menu and choose "Page Setup"
Click on "Horizontal" if your spreadsheet is wide and keep it on "Vertical" if your spreadsheet is spread tall. This will allow the reader to see more details on one page.
Step 4. Select all the data in the worksheet
Click on "Format" and choose "Cells".
- Choose the "Number" tab to identify certain cells such as those containing dates, numbers or currency. Format the cells as "number" if you want to include math formulas in your spreadsheet.
- Scroll through each of the tabs to change borders, fill, shading, fonts and more. Try different options to learn how to improve the look of your spreadsheet.
Method 5 of 5: Part V: Basic Spreadsheet Formulas
Step 1. Return to the "Totals" column, once you have finished formatting the cells as "number"
Step 2. Click the cell where you want to place a total of the data you have already entered
Step 3. Put an equal sign to indicate that you want to insert a function
Step 4. Choose from the list of functions the one you want to insert, for example add (by addition or subtraction) or multiplication
Step 5. Choose the data range you want to sum, if you use the "Sum" function
This function starts from the cell from which the data begins, for example C4, and continues up to the last value. "(C4: C12)" expresses the sum of a large range of cells. Subtraction is written as the sum of a negative number
Step 6. Choose the different cells you want to multiply or divide if you want to use this kind of function
To multiply, insert an asterisk between the first and second cells. If you want to split, enter the address of the first cell, then a backslash, then that of the second
Step 7. Press "Enter" to finish entering your function
And so the spreadsheet should automatically… calculate.
Step 8. Enter other equations in other totals columns
You can also create a sum of the totals at the end of the column.