Excel Table vs Range: Which One Your Sheet Needs
When an Excel Table beats a plain range, when it gets in the way, and how to convert a Table back to a range without losing the look. Six sheet jobs, one verdict each.
2026-09-24 · 12 min read
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Practical notes on spreadsheets people actually have to read: formatting, number formats, and making a sheet look finished.
Excel SUM Not Working? Five Causes, In Order
A SUM that returns 0 or a total that comes up short is rarely a broken formula. Run these five tests in order and you will find the cause in under a minute.
2026-09-23 · 12 min read
Format a P&L in Excel So the Numbers Read
Indents for hierarchy, accounting underlines for subtotals, parentheses for negatives, units stated once: format a P&L in Excel with a worked before and after.
2026-09-22 · 11 min read
Timesheet Formatting in Excel: Hours That Add Up
Timesheet Excel format that adds up: why 28:30 shows as 4:30, the [h]:mm fix, MOD for shifts past midnight, and decimal hours for payroll, with a worked week.
2026-09-21 · 10 min read
Excel Workbook Tabs: Naming and Order That Work
A naming and ordering spec for Excel workbook tabs: the 31-character limit, the characters Excel rejects, left-to-right order, tab colour, and the README tab.
2026-09-18 · 13 min read
Wrap Text vs Shrink to Fit in Excel
Wrap Text grows the row, Shrink to Fit shrinks the font, widening moves the table. When each is right, and why AutoFit Row Height skips merged or fixed rows.
2026-09-17 · 9 min read
Spreadsheet Data Structure: Rules for Clean Data
Eight structural rules for spreadsheet data, each with the symptom you can see and what it breaks: sorting, filtering, pivot tables, totals and CSV exports.
2026-09-16 · 13 min read
Excel Column Widths and Row Heights, Set Properly
AutoFit sizes a column to its longest cell, so one stray note wins. Measured widths for dates, currency, codes and names, and row height set once for the sheet.
2026-09-15 · 11 min read
Project Tracker Formatting That Shows Status
Project tracker spreadsheet formatting that holds up: a drop-down status column, one rule keyed to it, a quiet overdue signal, and a nine-row before and after.
2026-09-14 · 12 min read
CSV Opens Wrong in Excel? Fix the Columns
Four different faults wear the same symptom when a CSV opens badly in Excel. Match the symptom to its cause, fix what is fixable, re-export the rest.
2026-09-11 · 14 min read
Make an Excel Invoice Look Professional
How to make an invoice in Excel look professional: the five blocks, where the total sits, the number format codes for money columns, and a clean PDF export.
2026-09-10 · 17 min read
Fix Inconsistent Date Formats in Excel
Dates that look wrong in Excel are two different problems with two different fixes. Three quick tests tell you which one you have before you change anything.
2026-09-09 · 12 min read
Excel vs Google Sheets: Formatting Differences
What actually happens to number formats, conditional formatting, fonts and print setup when a file crosses between Excel and Google Sheets, in both directions.
2026-09-08 · 10 min read
Highlight Duplicates in Excel Without False Hits
Excel's Duplicate Values rule compares single cells, so it flags repeated first names and misses real duplicates. How to highlight duplicates in Excel properly.
2026-09-07 · 12 min read
Monthly Report Spreadsheet: Format for Skimming
A monthly report spreadsheet format built to survive next month: a data tab that grows down, a report tab that references it, and formats applied to columns.
2026-09-04 · 13 min read
Financial Model Formatting: The Color Conventions
Blue inputs, black formulas, green links: what each colour means in a financial model, why colour marks editability, and how to save it as Cell Styles.
2026-09-03 · 13 min read
Text to Columns in Excel: And Three Better Tools
Text to Columns splits a column once, overwrites what is to the right, and forgets the rule. Here is when to use it, and when Flash Fill, TEXTSPLIT or Power Query wins.
2026-09-02 · 13 min read
Repeat Header Rows on Every Printed Excel Page
How to repeat a header row when printing Excel: Page Layout tab, Print Titles, Rows to repeat at top. Plus why the boxes grey out and what Google Sheets does.
2026-09-01 · 13 min read
Google Sheets Formatting Tips: A 10-Minute Pass
Google Sheets formatting tips in the order they should run: a timed ten-minute pass over any sheet, sequenced so that no step forces you to redo an earlier one.
2026-08-31 · 16 min read
Client Report Spreadsheet: Layout That Gets Read
Build a spreadsheet for client report month-end: cover block, the client's number first, a period comparison, a notes column, and a method line.
2026-08-28 · 14 min read
Excel Color Palette: Three You Can Copy Today
Three complete six-slot spreadsheet palettes with hex codes, RGB fallbacks and computed contrast ratios. Paste them into Excel or Sheets and stop guessing.
2026-08-27 · 16 min read
Remove Duplicates in Excel Without Losing Data
Data > Remove Duplicates deletes rows permanently and judges them on an exact match. Here is the pre-flight check to run first, so you keep the right rows.
2026-08-26 · 11 min read
How to Format a Budget Spreadsheet People Read
Format your own budget instead of downloading someone else's: plan/actual/variance columns, negative-number codes, subtotal rows, and the one rule to add.
2026-08-25 · 14 min read
Excel Dashboard Design: One Screen, Five Numbers
Excel dashboard design best practices with a fixed budget: one screen, five numbers, one comparison each, and a wireframe mapping every region to real cell ranges.
2026-08-24 · 16 min read
Print an Excel Sheet on One Page Without Squinting
How to print an Excel spreadsheet on one page: set width to 1 page and height to Automatic, repeat the header row, and stop scaling before the type gets tiny.
2026-08-21 · 13 min read
Best Font for Spreadsheets: Numbers That Line Up
The best font for an Excel spreadsheet is the one whose digits are all the same width. Here is the test, the measured shortlist, and the default-font truth.
2026-08-20 · 13 min read
Accessible Spreadsheets: A Practical Checklist
Excel accessibility best practices, both halves in one place: the structure screen readers need, plus the WCAG contrast ratios and colour rules most guides leave out.
2026-08-19 · 13 min read
Merged Cells in Excel: What to Use Instead
Center Across Selection replaces most merged cells. A decision tree covers the ones you inherited: find them, unmerge them, refill the values safely.
2026-08-18 · 14 min read
Excel to PDF Without Losing Formatting
Excel to PDF without losing formatting: the loss happens in page setup, not the converter. A nine step pass to run before you export, in the right order.
2026-08-17 · 18 min read
How to Present a Spreadsheet to Executives
How to present Excel data to executives: a summary tab the file opens on, five numbers above the fold, scaled units, and the detail tabs underneath.
2026-08-14 · 17 min read
Alternating Row Colors: When They Help and Hurt
Banded rows fix wide tables and clutter narrow ones. The width test, both implementations in Excel and Google Sheets, and why banding breaks when you sort.
2026-08-13 · 16 min read
Excel Table Design: Rules That Make Tables Readable
Seven table design rules, each tied to the reading behaviour it protects — alignment, decimals, line economy, colour count, totals placement — plus a 14-point rubric to score your own file.
2026-08-12 · 15 min read
The Messy Spreadsheet Checklist: 12 Things to Fix Before You Send It
A pre-send checklist for Excel and Google Sheets — merged cells, numbers stored as text, trailing spaces, inconsistent dates, blank rows, hidden columns, ambiguous headers, and print setup, with the fix for each.
2026-08-09 · 8 min read
Conditional Formatting That Actually Helps (And When It Hurts)
Data bars, color scales, and icon sets each answer a different question. Here's which one to reach for, why three-color scales usually make tables harder to read, and how to keep meaning out of color alone.
2026-08-09 · 8 min read
Excel Number Formatting: Currency, Percent, Dates, and Custom Codes
How Excel format codes actually work — the four-section syntax, the difference between # and 0, accounting alignment, red parentheses for negatives, date codes, and a reference table of codes with their output.
2026-08-09 · 8 min read
How to Make an Excel Spreadsheet Look Professional (7 Rules)
Seven concrete formatting rules that separate a spreadsheet that reads like a report from one that reads like a scratchpad — gridlines, accent color, number alignment, header rows, freeze panes, and column widths.
2026-08-09 · 8 min read
