For someone comfortable entering and editing values in Excel or Google Sheets who wants to build reliable tables, formulas, summaries, and dashboards. Examples use universal spreadsheet concepts; exact menu names may differ by version.
Course 10 · Digital course 03
Master Excel & Google Sheets for Work
Build clean tables, reliable formulas, summaries, dashboards, and quality checks in Excel or Google Sheets.
Before you start
Be comfortable opening a spreadsheet and entering or editing values in cells. The lessons introduce tables and formulas before moving into more advanced practice.
New to computers? Start with Digital Basics See everything you’ll needWhat you’ll leave with
A decision-ready workbook with structured data, formulas, pivot analysis, a concise dashboard, and error controls.
Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.
Your project
Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.
Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.
- Get your materialsDownload the toolkitUse the downloadable worksheet or toolkit alongside the lesson instructions.
- Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
- Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Optional course overview
Watch an introduction.
This overview from Kevin Stratvert introduces ideas you’ll practice in the lessons.
Watch directly on YouTubeKevin StratvertPivot Table Excel TutorialYouTube
Course handbook
Know the route before you begin.
Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.
For the eight-week program, use the weekly project checklist. Larger course examples are optional extensions.
- Download the practice workbook and preserve an untouched original copy.
- Choose a small, non-sensitive dataset with a known business question.
- Write definitions for each field, unit, date, status, and missing value.
- Decide who will use the finished file and what they need to decide from it.
Finish with proof you can use.
An auditable workbook with a clean source-data table, documented calculations, controlled inputs, a refreshable pivot analysis, a decision-focused dashboard, validation checks, instructions, and a read-only handoff copy.
Save a project record in My ProofSee project checklist and review criteria
- A tidy source table with data dictionary, validation rules, and refresh timestamp.
- The six-order calculation sheet, paid category totals, and a note showing your changed-quantity test.
- The two source lists, cleaned status and pickup helper columns, match counts, and a note explaining how the missing pickup was resolved.
- Two pivot summaries (paid sales by category and all order values by status), plus a note explaining the canceled-order test.
- A one-screen dashboard with no more than six key views and a definitions panel.
- An audited workbook plus a five-minute handoff guide another person can follow.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas
The rules behind the steps.
One row, one record
Rectangular source data with stable headers and consistent types makes formulas, pivots, filters, and imports dependable.
Separate input, logic, and output
Raw data, calculations, assumptions, and presentation should not be mixed so heavily that changes become dangerous.
Auditability beats cleverness
A colleague should be able to trace a result, identify assumptions, and refresh it without relying on your memory.
What do these words mean?
Key words
Key terms worth knowing.
- Record
- One complete entity or event represented by a row in a well-structured table.
- Absolute reference
- A cell reference such as $B$2 that remains fixed when a formula is copied.
- Lookup key
- A stable field used to match records across tables, ideally unique where required.
- Pivot table
- An interactive summary that groups and aggregates records without changing source rows.
- Reconciliation
- A check that totals, counts, or records agree with a trusted source or expected control.
Your route6 lessons.
6 lessons.
One useful project.
Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.
- 1Up next
Structure clean data
Create a table that formulas, pivots, charts, and other people can trust.
- 235 min
Write reliable formulas
Calculate order totals, add only paid orders, and test what happens when an input changes.
- 334 min
Clean and join data
Remove extra spaces and match each order to a pickup time, keeping missing matches visible.
- 429 min
Analyze with pivot tables
Build two pivot summaries from the sample orders and explain their totals.
- 533 min
Design a decision dashboard
Present the few metrics, trends, and exceptions needed for a recurring decision.
- 626 min
Audit and hand off
Make the workbook maintainable by someone who did not build it.
Use the tools
See all tools Tools to help you practice.
Source transparency
Sources and further study.
Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.
Ready when you are
Start lesson one Start with the first useful move.
You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.
Open collaboration ideaHelp keep this complete course free.
Potential collaboration: Productivity suites, training, data tools
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