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Everyday skills guides · Guide 4 of 6
Spreadsheet (Excel) first steps
Rows, columns, simple formulas and sorting.
Key ideas
- Cell, row, column. A spreadsheet is a grid. A cell has an address such as B3 (column B, row 3).
- Enter data tidily. One heading row at the top and one record per row. No blank rows in the middle.
- Formulas start with
=. For example=B2*C2multiplies two cells. - Useful functions:
=SUM(B2:B10)adds a range,=AVERAGE(B2:B10)gives the average,=MAX()and=MIN()find the biggest and smallest. - Sort and filter help you find things quickly. Always select the whole table before sorting so rows stay together.
- Percent: to find 10% of a number, use
=B2*10%or=B2*0.1.
Try it (connects to TDS lesson 2)
- Make a table with headings: Vendor, Fee, TDS rate, TDS amount, Net payable.
- Enter three vendors with fees of ₹60,000, ₹30,000 and ₹1,20,000 and a rate of 10%.
- Use formulas for TDS amount (
=B2*C2) and net payable (=B2-D2). - Add a total row with
=SUM().
Free alternatives to Microsoft Excel include LibreOffice Calc and Google Sheets.
Check yourself
1. Every formula in a spreadsheet starts with…
A formula begins with the equals sign.
2. To add the values in B2 to B10 you write…
=SUM(B2:B10) adds the whole range.
Original beginner learning material by Bigsun Technologies for the Bigsun Udaan initiative. It is a learning aid, not an accredited course or a guarantee of employment.