The Most Common Mistake in Excel

The most common mistake I see with Spreadsheets, is the way they are set up which limits how the information can be manipulated and re-used. Most people set up their Spreadsheets so that they are both functional, but also ‘look good’ so that they can be printed directly as a report.

This greatly hinders the ability to use other functions, such as ‘Pivot Tables’, ‘Linking to other Files’ and use of formula’s. This often results in duplication of work, as the data needs to be re-created to show in a different report.

My best advice to you would be to use the spreadsheet to be functional, and make it look pretty as a second stage, using the following Tips:

Do’s                                                                      

• Keep data all in one Tab
• Keep ‘Totals’ at the top of the data, not at the bottom
• Use ‘one’ column as a ‘description’ to analyse data
• Input data at lowest level available
• Generate ‘Reports’ using ‘Pivot Tables’ or ‘Filters’

Don’t’s

• Don’t try to make it functional and looking good
• Don’t have separate tabs for different Months or Departments
• Don’t have separate columns for analysis