Round 5 begins now! In this post, the goal is to understand the results of each function when no matching rows are found. That is, when the lookup value is not found in the data table. Do the functions return an error? The closest match? 0? Well, that is why we are here, so let’s […]
Welcome to round 4. In this round, we want to explore the issue of return values. Specifically, the data types that our two heavyweights can return. Can they return text values? Numbers? So, that’s the idea … let’s jump right in. Round 4 … ding! Round 4 We have some account numbers, but we […]
Excel is big … really big. It has hundreds of functions and features, but which of these have the most potential to save time and help us work faster? The answer depends on what you’re working on. For common accounting and finance tasks, I believe the following 10 Excel skills can help improve the efficiency […]
Welcome to Round 3. In this round, we want to explore the idea of column order. That is, we want to find out if the order of the lookup table columns matter to these functions. Let’s find out! Round 3 … begins now! Round 3 We are trying to build a little report, and […]
Raise your hand if you love VLOOKUP? Me too! We Excel users have grown to love VLOOKUP over the years. But, XLOOKUP offers some advantages. XLOOKUP? That’s not a typo. Depending on your version of Excel and when you are reading this, you may see this function immediately, or it may be a while before […]
Round 2 begins! In this round, the goal is to understand what happens when values that are supposed to match are stored as different data types. Different data types? Cells can store many kinds of data, including numbers, text, dates, times, and so on. The format you apply to a cell doesn’t impact the data […]
It is time! In the first post, we met VLOOKUP. In the second post, we met SUMIFS. And now, the battle begins! Here is how it will work. The competition will consist of several rounds. In each round, we will use VLOOKUP and then SUMIFS to perform the same task. Then, we’ll determine who wins […]
This is the first post in a series called Battle of Heavyweights. In the series, we’ll use a boxing metaphor to compare VLOOKUP and SUMIFS. Now, as you read the next paragraph, use your best announcer’s voice and be sure to imagine the roar of a cheering crowd 🙂 “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the […]
In a previous post, we talked about how the CONCAT function joins values to create a combined text string. As a quick review, the CONCAT function is designed to replace the CONCATENATE function and supports range references as well as cell references. Well, as soon as we start playing around with CONCAT to join range […]
Quick question: how do we combine or join values from multiple cells to create one big text string? We’ve been able to use the concatenation operator (&) or the CONCATENATE function for decades. The CONCATENATE function has been a great friend over the years, and has enabled some wonderful formulas. But, now there’s a new […]