10

Must-Know

Excel
Functions for Every
Spreadsheet User
 Excel is an essential tool for
data management and
analysis across various
professions. Given its extensive
functions, navigating them
can be daunting. To assist, we
have curated a list of the top
10 indispensable Excel
functions for every user.

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 These functions enhance
time efficiency, accuracy,
and productivity in Excel.
They cover essential
tasks from basic
arithmetic to complex
data manipulation and
analysis. Whether you are
a novice or an expert,
mastering these top 10
Excel functions is crucial
for advancing your skills.

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The basics
of Excel
formulas
 Before exploring essential
Excel functions,
understanding the basics of
Excel formulas is crucial. A
formula is an equation used
for calculations, ranging from
simple arithmetic to complex
data analysis, initiated by an
equals sign (=) followed by
the function and values.
Mastery of this foundational
concept is key to leveraging
Excel's capabilities.

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Excel formulas are case-
insensitive, allowing the use
of uppercase or lowercase
letters interchangeably. The
platform employs various
mathematical operators for
calculations, such as
addition (+), subtraction
(-), multiplication (*), and
division (/). Parentheses
can be used to group
calculations and dictate
the order of operations.

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When working with Excel
formulas, it is crucial to use
cell references instead of
hard-coding values.
Referencing cells rather
than typing specific values
enhances formula flexibility
and simplifies updates
when data changes.

This practice ensures more

dynamic and easily
maintainable calculations.

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Basic Excel
functions
 The first set of must-know
Excel functions are the basic
arithmetic calculations,
including SUM, AVERAGE,
MIN, MAX, and COUNT. These
functions are used to
perform simple calculations
on a range of cells in your
spreadsheet.

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 The SUM function is used
to add up a range of cells.
To use the SUM function,
simply select the cells you
want to add up and type
“=SUM(” followed by the
range of cells and a
closing parenthesis.

For example,
“=SUM(A1:A10)” would
add up the values in cells
A1 through A10.

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The AVERAGE function is used
to find the average value of a
range of cells. To use the
AVERAGE function, simply
select the cells you want to
average and type
“=AVERAGE(” followed by the
range of cells and a closing
parenthesis. For example,
“=AVERAGE(B1:B10)” would
calculate the average of
the values in cells B1
through B10.

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The MIN function is used to
find the smallest value in a
range of cells. To use the
MIN function, simply select
the cells you want to find
the minimum value for and
type “=MIN(” followed by
the range of cells and a
closing parenthesis. For
example, “=MIN(C1:C10)”
would find the smallest
value in cells C1 through
C10.

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 The MAX function is used to
find the largest value in a
range of cells. To use the MAX
function, simply select the cells
you want to find the maximum
value for and type “=MAX(”
followed by the range of cells
and a closing parenthesis. For
example, “=MAX(D1:D10)”
would find the largest value in
cells D1 through D10.

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 The COUNT function is used to
count the number of cells that
contain a value. To use the
COUNT function, simply select
the cells you want to count
and type “=COUNT(” followed
by the range of cells and a
closing parenthesis.

For example, “=COUNT(E1:E10)”

would count the number of
cells in cells E1 through E10 that
contain a value.

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Logical
functions
 The second set of must-
know Excel functions are
the logical functions,
including IF, AND, and OR.

These functions are used

to evaluate logical
conditions and return a
true or false value based
on the outcome.

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The IF function in Excel is used to test
a logical condition and return one
value if the condition is true and
another value if it’s false. To use the
IF function, simply type “=IF(”
followed by the logical condition,
the value to return if the condition
is true, and the value to return if it’s
false. For example, “=IF(F1>10,
“True”, “False”)” would test
whether the value in cell F1 is
greater than 10 and return “True” if it
is and “False” if it’s not.

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 The AND function is used to test
multiple logical conditions and
return a true value only if all of the
conditions are true. To use the
AND function, simply type “=AND(”
followed by the logical conditions
separated by commas and a
closing parenthesis. For example,
“=AND(G1>10, G120)” would test
whether the value in cell G1 is
greater than 10 and less than 20
and return “True” if it is
and “False” if it’s not.

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The OR function is used to test
multiple logical conditions and
return a true value if any of the
conditions are true. To use the OR
function, simply type “=OR(”
followed by the logical conditions
separated by commas and a
closing parenthesis.
For example, “=OR(H1=10, H1=20)”
would test whether the value in
cell H1 is equal to 10 or 20 and
return “True” if it is and
“False” if it’s not.
Text
functions
The third set of must-know
Excel functions are the text
functions, including
CONCATENATE, LEFT,
RIGHT, LEN, and PROPER.
These functions are used
to manipulate and format
text in your spreadsheet.

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The CONCATENATE function
is used to combine two or
more strings of text into one
cell. To use the
CONCATENATE function,
simply type
“=CONCATENATE(” followed
by the strings of text
separated by commas and
a closing parenthesis.

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 The LEFT function is used to
extract a certain number of
characters from the left side of
a cell. To use the LEFT function,
simply type “=LEFT(” followed
by the cell reference and the
number of characters to
extract. For example, “=LEFT(I1,
5)” would extract the first five
characters from the cell I1.

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The RIGHT function is used to
extract a certain number of
characters from the right side of
a cell. To use the RIGHT function,
simply type “=RIGHT(” followed
by the cell reference and the
number of characters to extract.

For example, “=RIGHT(J1, 3)”

would extract the last three
characters from the cell J1.

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 The LEN function is used to
find the length of a cell’s
contents. To use the LEN
function, simply type
“=LEN(” followed by the
cell reference. For
example, “=LEN(K1)”
would return the number
of characters in the cell K1.

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The PROPER function is used
to capitalize the first letter of
each word in a cell. To use the
PROPER function, simply type
“=PROPER(” followed by the
cell reference.

For example, “=PROPER(L1)”

would capitalize the first
letter of each word in the cell
L1.
Date and
Time
functions
 The TODAY function is
used to insert the current
date into a cell. To use the
TODAY function, simply
type “=TODAY()”. This
function will automatically
update to the current
date whenever the
spreadsheet is opened.

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The CONCATENATE function
is used to combine two or
more strings of text into one
cell. To use the
CONCATENATE function,
simply type
“=CONCATENATE(” followed
by the strings of text
separated by commas and
a closing parenthesis.

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 The NOW function is used
to insert the current date
and time into a cell. To use
the NOW function, simply
type “=NOW()”. This
function will automatically
update to the current date
and time whenever the
spreadsheet is opened.

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The YEAR function is used to
extract the year from a date.

To use the YEAR function,

simply type “=YEAR(”
followed by the cell
reference containing the
date. For example,
“=YEAR(M1)” would extract
the year from the cell M1.

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The MONTH function is used
to extract the month from a
date. To use the MONTH
function, simply type
“=MONTH(” followed by the
cell reference containing
the date.

For example, “=MONTH(N1)”

would extract the month
from the cell N1.

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The DAY function is used
to extract the day from a
date. To use the DAY
function, simply type
“=DAY(” followed by the
cell reference containing
the date.

For example, “=DAY(O1)”

would extract the day
from the cell O1.

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The HOUR function is used
to extract the hour from a
time. To use the HOUR
function, simply type
“=HOUR(” followed by the
cell reference containing
the time.

For example, “=HOUR(P1)”

would extract the hour
from the cell P1.

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The SECOND function is used
to extract the second from a
time. To use the SECOND
function, simply type
“=SECOND(” followed by the
cell reference containing the
time.

For example, “=SECOND(R1)”

would extract the second
from the cell R1.
Lookup
functions
 The fifth set of must-know
Excel functions are the
lookup functions, including
VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP,
INDEX, and MATCH. These
functions are used to
search for and retrieve
data from a table.

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The VLOOKUP function is used to
search for a value in the leftmost
column of a table and return a
corresponding value from a
specified column. To use the
VLOOKUP function, simply type
“=VLOOKUP(” followed by the
value to search for, the table
array, the column index number
of the value to return, and a
closing parenthesis.

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For example,

“=VLOOKUP(S1, A1:B10,
2, FALSE)” would
search for the value in
cell S1 in the leftmost
column of the table
A1:B10 and return the
corresponding value in
the second column.

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The HLOOKUP function is used
to search for a value in the top
row of a table and return a
corresponding value from a
specified row. To use the
HLOOKUP function, simply
type “=HLOOKUP(” followed
by the value to search for, the
table array, the row index
number of the value to return,
and a closing parenthesis.

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For example,

“=HLOOKUP(S1, A1:B10, 2,
FALSE)” would search for
the value in cell S1 in the
top row of the table
A1:B10 and return the
corresponding value in
the second row.

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The INDEX function is used to
retrieve a value from a
specific location in a table. To
use the INDEX function,
simply type “=INDEX(”
followed by the table array,
the row index number, and
the column index number of
the value to retrieve. .

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For example,

“=INDEX(A1:B10, 5, 2)”
would retrieve the
value in the second
column of the fifth row
of the table A1:B10

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 The MATCH function is used to
search for a value in a table and
return the position of the value in
the table. To use the MATCH
function, simply type “=MATCH(”
followed by the value to search
for and the table array. For
example, “=MATCH(T1, A1:B10, 0)”
would search for the value in cell
T1 in the table A1:B10 and return
the position of the value.

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The OFFSET function is used
to dynamically refer to a cell
from a starting point on an
excel workbook. To use this
function, you can use the
syntax =OFFSET(A1,4,1) in
which case starting from cell
A1 it will move down 4 rows
and move right 1 column i.e
move to cell B5 and return
the value in that cell.
Statistical
functions
 The sixth set of must-
know Excel functions are
the statistical functions,
including STDEV, VAR,
and CORREL. These
functions are used to
perform statistical
analysis on a set of data.

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The STDEV function is used to
calculate the standard
deviation of a set of data. To use
the STDEV function, simply type
“=STDEV(” followed by the
range of cells containing the
data and a closing parenthesis.
For example, “=STDEV(U1:U10)”
would calculate the standard
deviation of the values in cells
U1 through U10.

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 The VAR function is used to
calculate the variance of a set
of data. To use the VAR
function, simply type “=VAR(”
followed by the range of cells
containing the data and a
closing parenthesis. For
example, “=VAR(V1:V10)”
would calculate the variance
of the values in cells V1
through V10.

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The CORREL function is used
to calculate the correlation
coefficient between two sets
of data. To use the CORREL
function, simply type
“=CORREL(” followed by the
range of cells containing
the first set of data, the
range of cells containing the
second set of data, and a
closing parenthesis.

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For example,

“=CORREL(W1:W10,
X1:X10)” would
calculate the
correlation coefficient
between the values in
cells W1 through W10
and X1 through X10.
Financial
functions
 The seventh set of must-
know Excel functions are
the financial functions,
including PV, FV, PMT, and
RATE. These functions are
used to perform financial
calculations, such as
calculating the present
value of a loan or the future
value of an investment.

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The PV function is used to
calculate the present value
of a loan or investment. To
use the PV function, simply
type “=PV(” followed by the
interest rate, the number of
periods, the payment
amount, the future value,
and a closing parenthesis.

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For example,

“=PV(0.05, 10, 100, 0,

0)” would calculate
the present value of a
loan with an interest
rate of 5%, 10 periods,
and a payment
amount of $100.

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 The FV function is used to
calculate the future value of
an investment. To use the
FV function, simply type
“=FV(” followed by the
interest rate, the number of
periods, the payment
amount, the present value,
and a closing parenthesis.

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For example,

“=FV(0.05, 10, 100, 0, 0)”

would calculate the
future value of an
investment with an
interest rate of 5%, 10
periods, and a payment
amount of $100.

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 Ashish Agarwal

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