Excel Tips for your Spreadsheet

This section is intended as a reference and is designed to assist you in learning some of the
commonly used features of Excel. It is also intended to provide you with some ideas to help
enhance the quality of your spreadsheets.

Entering Formulae

Converting your data set if needed

Sometimes, data that you retrieve from a database or other source will not be in ‘raw’ form.
The data may be truncated and shown in thousands (usually denoted by ‘000 at the top of the
data set) or millions (usually denoted M). When you are working in Excel with data that is
presented like this, it is best to create a column that essentially ‘undoes’ the truncation.

For example, suppose we obtain the following sales data on a multi-national corporation:

A B C
1 Date Sales ($M) Sales ($)
2 Feb-98 42.2
3 Mar-98 58.3
4 Apr-98 60.14
5 May-98 68.2
6 Jun-98 74.88

Before working with this data, let’s create another column (column C), called Sales ($), where
we will record the actual sales figures, without truncation. To create this column, in cell C2
enter the following formula:

=B2*1000000

Next, click on cell C2 and use the fill handle to complete the remaining entries in the column.

The spreadsheet should now look like this:

A B C
1 Date Sales ($M) Sales ($)
2 Feb-98 42.2 42200000
3 Mar-98 58.3 58300000
4 Apr-98 60.14 60140000
5 May-98 68.2 68200000
6 Jun-98 74.88 74880000

Notice that this formula is simply multiplying every entry in column B by a constant, which is
1,000,000. If the sales data were presented in thousands (‘000), then you would simply
multiply column B by 1,000 to create column C.
Working with the CPI

Many times, nominal data needs to be divided by the CPI in order to convert the data series to
‘real’ data. For example, suppose we have the following data:

A B C D E
1 Date Sales ($) CPI CPI* Real Sales ($)
2 Feb 1995 420 96.4
3 Feb 1996 580 100
4 Feb 1997 600 104.5
5 Feb 1998 680 110.3
6 Feb 1999 740 112.5

We are interested in obtaining column E, the Real Sales in dollars. But first, we need to
create column D, CPI*, by dividing the CPI by 100. This is because the CPI uses the value of
100 as its base. To do this, in cell D2 enter the following formula:

=C2/100

Next, click on cell D2 and use the fill handle to complete the remaining entries in the column.
Notice that the CPI in 1996 is 100. This is called the ‘base year’. Therefore, the resulting
Real Sales data in column E will be in terms of 1996 dollars.

The spreadsheet should now look like this:

A B C D E
1 Date Sales ($) CPI CPI* Real Sales ($)
2 Feb 1995 420 96.4 0.964
3 Feb 1996 580 100 1
4 Feb 1997 600 104.5 1.045
5 Feb 1998 680 110.3 1.103
6 Feb 1999 740 112.5 1.125

Now you are ready to obtain column E, Real Sales ($). To do this, in cell E2 enter the
following formula:

=B2/D2

Next, click on cell E2 and use the fill handle to complete the remaining entries in the column.

Finally, the spreadsheet should now look like this:

A B C D E
1 Date Sales ($) CPI CPI* Real Sales ($)
2 Feb 1995 420 96.4 0.964 435.6846
3 Feb 1996 580 100 1 580
4 Feb 1997 600 104.5 1.045 574.1627
5 Feb 1998 680 110.3 1.103 616.5005
6 Feb 1999 740 112.5 1.125 657.7778
Natural Logarithms

You will need to key formulae into Excel, to convert a column of numbers. For example, you
might wish to work with the natural logarithm of the original series. Suppose your original
series looks like this:

A B C
1 Date Sales ($) Ln (Sales)
2 17-Feb 42
3 18-Feb 58
4 15-Feb 60
5 16-Feb 68
6 19-Feb 74

In order to create another column for the natural logarithms, in cell C2 enter the following
formula:

=LN(B2)

Next, click on cell C2 and use the fill handle to complete the remaining entries in the column.

The spreadsheet should now look like this:

A B C
1 Date Sales ($) Ln (Sales)
2 17-Feb 42 3.73767
3 18-Feb 58 4.060443
4 15-Feb 60 4.094345
5 16-Feb 68 4.219508
6 19-Feb 74 4.304065
Percentage Changes

You may wish to have Excel calculate a percentage change over time. For example, suppose
you have the following data:

A B C
1 Date Sales ($) % Change
2 15-Feb 60
3 16-Feb 68
4 17-Feb 42
5 18-Feb 58
6 19-Feb 74

To create a column that represents a percentage change, in cell C3 enter the following
formula:

=100*(B3-B2)/B2

Next, click on cell C3 and use the fill handle to complete the remaining entries in the column.

The spreadsheet should now look like this:

A B C
1 Date Sales ($) % Change
2 15-Feb 60
3 16-Feb 68 13.33333
4 17-Feb 42 -38.2353
5 18-Feb 58 38.09524
6 19-Feb 74 27.58621

Notice that we cannot generate a percentage change for the first figure in the column, because
the formula requires knowledge of the previous observation.
Sorting Columns of Data

Sometimes it is helpful to sort columns of data in Excel so that it is easier to work with. For
example, suppose you have sales data that looks like this:

A B
1 Date Sales ($)
2 15-Feb 60
3 16-Feb 68
4 17-Feb 42
5 18-Feb 58
6 19-Feb 74

Now suppose that you want to re-order the sales in ascending order, so that the $42 day (17-
Feb) is first in the list, and the $74 day (19-Feb) is last on the list. To do this, select cells A1
through B6, and then click on Sort & Filter, then Custom Sort, then under ‘Sort by’, ensure
Sales ($) is selected, and under ‘Order’ select Ascending and then click OK. Your data
should now look like this:

A B
1 Date Sales ($)
2 17-Feb 42
3 18-Feb 58
4 15-Feb 60
5 16-Feb 68
6 19-Feb 74

Note that you can also instruct Excel to sort your data in descending order.

Working with Graphs

It is very important to make sure you keep the following in mind when presenting your
graphs:

(1) Always provide unit-of-measurement indicators on both axes of your graphs.

This is very important; your tutor will deduct marks if you do not adhere to this
practice.

(2) Excel allows you to modify the colours used in your graphs. If you wish to print
your assignment in colour, you should use a conservative colour scheme to avoid
distracting your tutor with flashy, brightly coloured assignments.

(3) Excel allows you to size graphs conveniently, by clicking on the graph (to
activate it) and then clicking and dragging a corner box on the perimeter of the
graph until the new graph size is achieved. You should size the graph in Excel,
prior to exporting it to Microsoft Word.

(4) Never assume that a graph can take the place of an insightful paragraph. You
should use graphs to support your analysis, not to replace it. Use graphs
sparingly, to highlight your major points.
Formatting your Spreadsheets

You will probably notice that Excel has quite a few formatting features. Many of these
features can be applied simply by selecting the appropriate cells and using the various
formatting icons near the pull-down menus at the top of the screen. You can easily change
the font size and style, make titles bold, centre text within a cell, etc.

Generally, you will be including your spreadsheets as appendices to your assignments. Your
tutor will read your spreadsheets, so their presentation is important, despite the fact that they
are located in an appendix. This means that you will want to take care to provide well laid-
out spreadsheets that your tutor can easily understand.

It is recommended that you take a few minutes to format your spreadsheets before submitting
your assignment. Here are a few things you can do to make your spreadsheets appear more
professional:

(1) Centre and Bold the titles of each column.

(2) Give the spreadsheet a title, by clicking on the Insert tab, Header & Footer,
and then type the desired title in the appropriate section. Then click OK.

(3) Print your spreadsheet so that it is easy for your tutor to read and understand.
When printing a spreadsheet with many columns, it is best to print it in
Landscape format (found in the Page Layout, Orientation menu).

(4) If your spreadsheet ‘spills’ over into two pages, you can either change the
margins (in Page Layout tab under the ‘Margins’ menu) or reduce the size of the
entire spreadsheet (also in Page Layout tab under the ‘Size’ menu). Be careful
not to reduce by too much; less than 70% of the original size is probably too
small for your tutor to read without straining his/her eyes.