Brigham Young University Idaho

Spreadsheet Standards of Professionalism

These guidelines will help you create best-in-class spreadsheets with excellent visual appeal. The detailed mechanics
of Excel are not covered in this document, rather it is designed to help make your work look and feel top-notch.

Start here: Intro to Graphic Design

These videos will help introduce you to industry best practices when it comes to good design (images below are links)

Project Directions
Before submitting assignments, please give the directions one final review and validate you've
gotten all of the tasks done. It may also help to think about what aspects of your work might be confusing
which you could clarify in the submission comments or somewhere in the workbook. This would be similar
to helping orient the person requesting your work as you typically would in an in-person or email response.

First Impressions
Before saving, scroll every sheet to the top left, select cell A1, and then click on the "landing sheet"
(whichever sheet you want to be seen first) this way anyone opening the file is starting exactly where
you want them to begin.

Hard-coding Numbers
Do not type numbers directly into formulas - . Instead, make a
reference to a cell or range so variables can be changed easily. Only replace formulas
with - values if directed to do so.
For example: use =SUM(A1:A3) rather than =SUM(7,6,4)

Color Schemes and Fonts

As described in the videos above, use color appropriately. For example: designating certain areas as inputs,
highlighting table headings, or providing background shading. Avoid black and white schemes or overly
loud colors along with over-coloring. Many websites can help create schemes in addition to the default
Excel theme. For examples, visit https://learnui.design/tools/data-color-picker.html
Use a maximum of 2 fonts. Within your work maintain consistency and professionalism in your choice of
fonts; Arial is a great choice for any project, along with Arial Narrow.

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Spreadsheet Standards of Professionalism

Number Formats
Be consistent in the use of various types of formats. For example, be sure all cells containing dollar figures
use the same number of decimals, the same $ location, and share a common negative number indicator.

Cell Alignment
Rarely is center horizontal alignment ideal as it makes it difficult for a
reader to align start and end points, especially with numbers. Typically,
cells containing text are left aligned while numbers are right aligned so
that the units line-up. Be sure this is done consistently across the entire
workbook.
For example, in the image above, the percent signs in column C use a number format that allows those
align despite some cells being negative while others are positive.

Lines
Borders and gridlines are meant to help guide the eye and should blend into the background avoid
formatting them to stand out more than needed. This means using lighter gray instead of solid black. In
some cases, you should remove default gridlines to clean up the presentation or to make clean summary
sheets ( > .
Sometimes use of heavier borders is appropriate to highlight areas and/or separate information.

Input / Output Designation

Users should easily know where data input is required; clearly call-out where inputs are
required and where outputs are displayed. If possible, isolate input cells to a designated
area. At a minimum, give input cells color that is consistent across all inputs and different from all other
cells. Consider including a legend that denotes all cells having a certain color are designated as cells where
input is required. Built-in Cell Styles can often be used ( Home tab > Styles section).

Calculations
If calculations are not needed for presentation, they should be moved to other worksheets. If this is not
possible, then the cells containing calculations could be hidden. Never color the text in calculation cells
white to give it the appearance of being hidden. This creates the potential for users to inadvertently break
calculations. If no other options will work, you might use borders to block off a calculation area away from
the main view.

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Spreadsheet Standards of Professionalism

Workspace Utilization
Utilize white space to make your worksheets pop . Do not simply bunch your
summary data into a single row or column; conversely, do not spread it across sheets needlessly. Use the
space you have on the screen, categorize similar data, and make it look professional rather than antiseptic.

Scrolling
In presentation or summary areas, do your best to display the information in one screen and avoid making
the user scroll (check how it reacts on a smaller laptop screen, too). If you must scroll, scroll down first.
Horizontal scrolling should be avoided for summary or presentation areas.

Print Area and Margins

Users may want to print or export a dashboard to a PDF. Be sure to set up your summary sheets so that they fit
this means scaled to fit 1 x 1 page). Include a footer that displays the
date and time printed along with the
icient.

Decimals
Round numbers to the appropriate number of decimal places. For example, pennies are likely not needed
when dealing with millions of dollars. When you show calculated data, you should not necessarily leave it
as showing 3, 4, or 8 digits following the decimal point. Adjust the digits displayed appropriately according
to what makes sense. As always, be consistent in your level of rounding across the document.

Wrapping Text / Merging Cells

to keep your columns a manageable width. If necessary, you may merge cells
as well. However, be aware that merging cells can cause issues with formula
referencing, as well as inserting or deleting rows or columns. As the preferred
> Format Cells menu).

Typos and Errors

Double checking before submission is critical. Proofread your files for typos, errors, etc.

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Charts and Visualizations
In many instances telling a story or
making a point with data is most
effective when it can be visualized in
an easy-to-read layout. For example,
the image to the right quickly shows
the location of Temples across the
world. If it were just a list it would
take us much more time to understand.

Use charts when a visual representation of the data is warranted to help communicate. When you create
charts or graphs, edit them to make them appear descriptive and professional after you have created
them. Do not accept the default graph that Excel creates; make yours neat and clear. These links may help
give you some ideas, even though they are for Tableau (a different software package):
Which chart or graph should I use? Bar chart menu Visual analysis white paper_

• Use chart titles and axis labels, which should be brief, but also very clear and explanatory
• An axis that is not labeled is confusing
• A legend should not be shown if only one data series is on the graph, but if several series are on the
graph, a legend is necessary

An example of a neat, clean chart

BEFORE AFTER

If you are interested in additional reading, please see Storytelling with Data: Let's Practice! Available online from the BYU Idaho library.

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