It’s no secret that Microsoft Excel has become an essential tool in the business world. Many people will tell you that there are just as many Excel functions as there are numbers in the world, but we’re going to take a look at some of the most advanced formulas and functions that any user can benefit from knowing how to utilize in their spreadsheets.
Let’s take a look at the 10 advanced Excel formulas and functions you should learn next!
1) VLOOKUP
VLOOKUP is a formula that enables you to search data across multiple spreadsheets in your Microsoft Excel documents. VLOOKUP stands for Vertical Lookup.
2) SUMIF
SUMIF (or SUMIFS) is a function in Microsoft Excel that adds values from a given criteria range. SUMIF searches for cells with matching criteria and returns an aggregate of each such cell to another range of cells.
3) INDEX/MATCH
With INDEX/MATCH, you can look up a value within a given range. Say you have an array of monthly data and want to find when all values in a column hit their maximums—this formula can help. The syntax is simple
4) ERROR
The IFERROR function returns a specific value if your formula evaluates to an error, and returns a different value if there are no errors. Use it when you want two outcomes based on whether or not something is true (e.g., retain the current shipping rate if we have 5+ items in a cart or increase the shipping rate by $5 otherwise).
To use IFERROR, simply wrap your formula with it: =IFERROR(A1*B1,). If no errors occur, A1*B1 will be returned; otherwise, No Error will show up instead. Here’s an example
5) IFS
This function stands for innermost/successive and is used to reference multiple cells that are directly affected by a formula. For example, if you want to add up every column of numbers under a certain header in an excel spreadsheet, you would use a formula that reads: =SUM(IFS(Cell1>0)*Cell2, IFS(Cell3>0)*Cell3…etc.).
This will give you your total for each respective cell regardless of what other columns are between them.
6) PMT
This formula, short for the payment formula, is used to determine how much interest you’ll pay over a given period on a loan. To find out your loan payments using PMT, enter =PMT(rate, number_of_periods, present_value) into an Excel spreadsheet cell.
7) SUMPRODUCT
If you work with a lot of data in Excel, then it’s likely that you’ve come across situations where you need to multiply a range of cells by a single cell. This is done using SUMPRODUCT, which takes two arrays as arguments and returns a single array.
8) LOOKUP MATCH
The MATCH function looks up a value in an array and returns its position, just like VLOOKUP. However, MATCH is more flexible because it can match text or numeric values, not just whole cells.
For example, you could use MATCH to help match employee names with their phone extensions. The MATCH function looks up a value in an array and returns its position, just like VLOOKUP.
9) IMPORTXML
The ImportXML function takes a web page and imports its content as data into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. This includes any XML coding found on web pages, such as RSS feeds, XML sitemaps, or HTML tags.
The ImportXML function is only available in Microsoft Office Professional.
10) OFFSET MATCH
This formula is used to search for a pattern in a reference range that is shifted relative to another range. The MATCH function searches for a specific value in one range and returns only those records that contain that value, while OFFSET MATCH allows you to perform a search over two ranges—returning values that match both criteria.
The 0-8This formula has some similarities with VLOOKUP, although it offers more flexibility by allowing you to search across columns instead of merely down rows.
Conclusion:
We hope you’ve found these formulas and functions helpful. If you follow the tips above, you’ll be on your way to boosting productivity and enjoying some rest at work. If you want to learn more about Excel, you can always learn for free on youtube. There are thousands of Excel tutorials on YouTube. Use Career Ninja‘s LearnTube platform for hand-holding training on YouTube. Learn Tube organizes the results of your YouTube search into a course framework. If you want to learn “Excel tutorials”, search the term on LearnTube and it will show you a bunch of youtube videos like an online course. As a beginner, you’ll click through the videos from the first to the last, as if you were taking an online course tailored specifically for you.
