Excel University Blog
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XLOOKUP
Comparing two lists in Excel is one of the most common tasks in accounting, finance, and operations. Whether we need to confirm that every open invoice has been paid, find bank deposits missing from the books, or run a full two-way reconciliation, the right formulas turn a manual, error-prone process into a clean, dynamic exception…
Multi-criteria lookups are one of the most common challenges Excel users face. Whether we need to find a single matching record, retrieve a full list of matching rows, or sum up values across multiple conditions, the approach changes depending on the goal. In this tutorial, we walk through three exercises that show how Copilot in…
Copilot in Excel can save a tremendous amount of time on routine finance tasks. In this tutorial, we walk through three exercises that show how Copilot can assign expense categories from a reference table, generate a formula-based summary, build a PivotTable report, and even write step-by-step documentation for future updates. If your team processes expense…
Have you ever opened an old workbook and stared at a formula packed with nested RIGHT, LEN, FIND, INDEX, and MATCH functions, wondering if there is a cleaner way? There is. Copilot in Excel can read those legacy formulas, figure out exactly what they do, and replace them with modern Excel functions that are easier…
For accountants who rely on Excel daily, knowing when to use XLOOKUP versus VLOOKUP can save hours of rework and eliminate costly lookup errors. The short answer: XLOOKUP is the more powerful, flexible replacement for VLOOKUP in nearly every accounting scenario — but understanding why helps you use both tools with confidence. Here’s a practical…
Excel’s XLOOKUP function provides a flexible and powerful tool for retrieving data. It removes many of the limitations of older lookup functions (yes, I’m looking at you VLOOKUP). In this post, we’ll build a foundational understanding of XLOOKUP, walk through practical applications step-by-step, and unlock best practices for common scenarios. Video What is XLOOKUP? A…
When working with messy data, we often turn to Excel, but with the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT, we now have new ways to tackle these challenges. In this post, we’ll compare Excel and ChatGPT side by side, using three common data tasks: We’ll see how each tool handles the job, the pros and…
When working with drop down lists in Excel, creating dependent drop downs that dynamically adapt based on a primary choice is both powerful and time-saving. This post walks through setting up rows of dependent drop downs and concludes with a method to notify users when a secondary choice becomes invalid. Let’s dive in! Video Step-by-step…
Removing duplicates in Excel is a common task, but what if you want more control than the Remove Duplicates command provides? Maybe you need a formula to handle duplicates dynamically. In this guide, we’ll cover how to remove duplicates from a single column, handle multiple columns, and use formulas for various scenarios like summing, finding…
Hello, and welcome to this deep dive into the fascinating world of Excel’s XLOOKUP function—specifically using it with RegEx (Regular Expressions). In this post, we’ll cover the basics of XLOOKUP, explore the new RegEx match mode, and demonstrate some practical examples. Whether you’re already familiar with XLOOKUP or just starting out, there’s something here for…