Fast Five Features for NGOs: Creating Better Spreadsheets

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Yesterday, Mark Liu from TechSoup and Kate Libershteyn from Microsoft as well as nonprofit Feet First talked to nonprofits and public libraries about how to get the most from Excel by using keyword shortcuts, pivot tables and other tips to keep spreadsheets running smoothly.

Here is this week’s Fast Five Features for NGOs for creating better spreadsheets.

1. Reduce Steps – Use Keyword Shortcuts

By moving your hand back and forth between the keyboard and your mouse, you can lose time and your mouse requires more precision. Cut down on the use of the mouse and menu and instead use the Ctrl or Alt key for simple keyboard shortcuts. For example, Ctrl + “y” can help you repeat an action such as deleting or inserting rows and to insert a new worksheet, try “Shift” + “F11.”

2. Use Pivot Tables when You’re Working with Lots of Data

Pivot tables are great for large quantities of data and categorization of that data. Additionally, pivot tables integrate well with Excel graphs. Learn more about pivot tables here.

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3. Create a Strategic Scorecard for your Organization

Take your goals and break them down into measurements and targets. Now, visualize these targets and your actuals using Conditional Formatting. Conditional Formatting enables your spreadsheet to display graphical representations of your data trends, including arrows or stop light colors, which change based on the values input into your spreadsheet.

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4. Maintain Version Control with Passwords

If you’ve ever experienced your budget spreadsheet turning into eight different versions with no clear current version, you’ll want to follow this tip. Simply password-protect your entire workbook and you’ll never have an issue with duplication again. Find out more here.

5. Improve Productivity by Sharing a Workbook

On the opposite side of the spectrum, you can decrease the amount of time spent on tasks within Excel by sharing the workbook so multiple users can make changes at the same time. Learn more about how to enable sharing here.