I'm currently taking the 'Microsoft Excel Tutorial for Beginners on Youtube and would love to share my knowledge here. Although I have used Microsoft Excel on different occasions, my journey to become a Data Analyst requires that I am grounded in it.
A. Today I learned how to create payroll in Excel. This includes using basic formulas such as formulas for finding the minimum number, maximum number, average, and total for a range of values. To input a formula in a cell, it is necessary to start with the 'equals to' sign.
You would notice that when a cell with a formula is double-clicked, the columns referenced in that formula are highlighted in different colors.
The formula to use when you want to know the maximum of a range of numbers:
\= Max(range of numbers)
The formula to use when you want to know the minimum of a range of numbers:
\= Min(range of numbers)
The formula to use when you want to know the sum of a range of numbers:
\= Sum(range of numbers)
B. Using the 'IF' formula: To illustrate this, we calculated overtime hours for employees, where 'Hours worked' is a referenced cell in the Excel sheet;
\= If (Hours worked>40, Hours worked - 40, 0)
The above formula means that if the hours worked are greater than 40 (where the normal working hours is 40 hours), subtract 40 from the hours worked and show the result, but if he worked less than 40 hours, show '0' as the answer.
C. When copying formulas take note of the following types of referencing:
i. Relative References
ii. Absolute References: To 'absolute reference' a cell in Excel, add a dollar sign to the cell reference in the formula (eg. =$C4 + D4, where C4 is an absolute reference while D4 is a relative reference).
Relative and absolute references behave differently when copied and filled into other cells. Relative references change when a formula is copied to another cell. Absolute references, on the other hand, remain constant no matter where they are copied.