Why Should I Use Excel ?

If you've found this page, you're probably asking: Why should I use Excel ?... I've managed my whole life without it.. What is this Excel thing ?

Well, here's my list of top reasons why you might want to learn how to use it:

1. Save Time
   • Automate Repetitive tasks
   • Reuse Calculations
   • To save time, you need to invest time to learn how to use Excel then you can go home early or progress your career faster.
2. Reduce the possibility of errors
   • A calculator is no competition for a well designed Excel spreadsheet in reducing errors
   • A badly designed Excel spreadsheet however will increase the possibility of errors
3. Perform Complex calculations
   • Do things you can't do on a calculator, and do them with minimal effort
   • Complex calculations can help you to make better informed decisions
4. Control your personal data
   • If you write your own spreadsheet that's on your own computer, no-one else can access that data or use it to spam you with useless products that you don't want.
5. Easily summarise large amounts of data
   • Pivot Tables are an ingenious way of creating data summaries.
6. Flexibility
   • It's the ultimate sketch pad
   • You can do anything from writing a shopping list to 2 player tetris to derivatives trading.
   • If you're designing a large system, Excel is the perfect tool for prototyping.
7. Make Money
   • A good Excel / VBA developer can make a lot of money.
   • The reason this skill is so valuable is that automating tasks and improving efficiency are extremely useful to a business.
8. Save Money
   • If you are a company considering a large IT expenditure, ask whether Excel could be good enough for your needs.

Interested to hear more reasons why someone who doesn't use Excel should consider developing their skills.

The best way to learn Excel is not to plough through text books, but to create something that you can relate to, and build it step by step.

I have written a 27 step Excel Training course that will teach you how to create a Credit Crunch-Busting Expense Tracker system from scratch.

When you're done, move onto Teach Yourself Excel Lesson 2 - Course Outline

Nick