Excel Skills for Business: Essentials
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Excel Skills for Business: Essentials
This course is part of Excel Skills for Business Specialization
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What you'll learn
Master Excel interface, formulas, and functions for business
Professionally format spreadsheets and visualize data with charts
Enhance productivity using Excel's essential features
Solve common business problems with practical Excel skills
Skills you'll gain
Tools you'll learn
Details to know
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- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate
There are 7 modules in this course
In this first course of the specialization, 'Excel Skills for Business: Essentials', you will master the fundamental capabilities of Microsoft Excel. Over six weeks, you will gain the confidence to expertly navigate the Excel user interface, perform essential calculations using formulas and functions, professionally format spreadsheets, and create impactful data visualizations with charts and graphs.
This course is designed for aspiring business professionals, students, and anyone looking to enhance their digital skills. Whether you are new to Excel or self-taught and aiming to solidify your foundational knowledge for greater efficiency and productivity, this program provides a robust starting point. You will solve a variety of practical business problems, applying learned Excel skills and techniques through downloadable workbooks and real-world data sets. To succeed in this course, no prior Excel experience is required. You will develop highly valuable spreadsheet software skills, positioning yourself for success in today's rapidly evolving digital job market.
In this foundational module, you will learn the essential features of Microsoft Excel. We'll cover the Excel user interface, basic Excel terminology, how to operate essential navigational controls, and perform basic data entry with Excel spreadsheets. By the end, you'll confidently navigate Excel and be ready to build your spreadsheet skills.
What's included
10 videos8 readings8 assignments
10 videos•Total 46 minutes
- Week 1 Introduction•3 minutes
- Week 1 Discussion•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Taking Charge of Excel•7 minutes
- Practice Video: Navigating and Selecting•6 minutes
- Practice Video: View Options•5 minutes
- Practice Video: Data Entry, Data Types, Editing and Deleting•7 minutes
- Practice Video: Fill Handle•6 minutes
- Week 1 Wrap-up•2 minutes
- Copy and Paste•5 minutes
- Templates•2 minutes
8 readings•Total 125 minutes
- Welcome to Excel Skills for Business: Essentials•20 minutes
- Course goals and weekly learning objectives•10 minutes
- Important information about versions and regions•10 minutes
- Read me before you start: Quizzes and Navigation•10 minutes
- Download the Week 1 workbooks•5 minutes
- Week 1: Practice Challenge•20 minutes
- Week 1: Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology, and Ninja Tips•25 minutes
- Week 1: Excellent Tips and Resources•25 minutes
8 assignments•Total 140 minutes
- Taking Charge of Excel: Test your skills, Part 1•30 minutes
- Taking Charge of Excel: Test your skills, Part 2•30 minutes
- Are essential skills too basic for me?•10 minutes
- Taking Charge of Excel•10 minutes
- Navigating and Selecting•10 minutes
- View Options•10 minutes
- Data Entry•10 minutes
- Fill handle•30 minutes
Understanding formula syntax is crucial for powerful data analysis in Microsoft Excel. In this module, you will be introduced to essential Excel formulas and functions. You'll learn how to write them, use them to perform calculations, and master different cell references. By the end, you'll confidently apply formulas to solve business problems.
What's included
11 videos5 readings7 assignments
11 videos•Total 44 minutes
- Week 2 Introduction•2 minutes
- Week 2 Discussion•5 minutes
- Practice Video: Formulas•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Formulas in Context•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Functions I: SUM and AUTOSUM•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Functions II: AVERAGE, MIN and MAX•4 minutes
- Discussion: Absolute Cell References•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Absolute Cell References•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Calculations across sheets•5 minutes
- Week 2 Wrap-up•1 minute
- Excel Options•6 minutes
5 readings•Total 125 minutes
- Download the Week 2 workbooks•5 minutes
- Week 2: Practice Challenges•60 minutes
- Word Search Puzzle: Master ranges•15 minutes
- Week 2: Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology, and Ninja Tips•25 minutes
- Week 2: Excellent Tips and Resources•20 minutes
7 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- Performing Calculations: Test your skills•30 minutes
- Formulas•6 minutes
- Formulas in Context•30 minutes
- Functions I•6 minutes
- Functions II•6 minutes
- Absolute Cell References•6 minutes
- Calculations across Sheets•6 minutes
You'll discover how formatting helps highlight key messages and make your data presentable in Microsoft Excel. This module covers essential formatting tools like font styles, borders, alignment, and number formatting, along with Excel's built-in styles and themes. By the end, you'll be able to apply professional formatting to any spreadsheet, making your data clear and impactful.
What's included
10 videos4 readings7 assignments
10 videos•Total 40 minutes
- Week 3 Introduction•3 minutes
- Week 3 Discussion•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Formatting•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Borders•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Alignment Tools•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Format Painter•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Number Formats•6 minutes
- Practice Video: Styles and Themes•5 minutes
- Week 3 Wrap-up•1 minute
- Graphics•7 minutes
4 readings•Total 60 minutes
- Download the Week 3 workbooks•5 minutes
- Week 3: Practice Challenge•30 minutes
- Week 3: Keyboard Shortcuts and Ninja Tips•10 minutes
- Week 3: Excellent Tips and Resources•15 minutes
7 assignments•Total 79 minutes
- Formatting: Test your skills•30 minutes
- Formatting•8 minutes
- Borders•8 minutes
- Alignment Tools•8 minutes
- Format Painter•12 minutes
- Number Formats•8 minutes
- Styles and Themes•5 minutes
This module is all about working with data in Microsoft Excel and making it easy to manage. You will learn essential techniques to manage your spreadsheets, including how to efficiently find data with Filter and Sort, retrieve and change data using Find and Replace, and apply Conditional Formatting to highlight specific data. By the end, you'll confidently organize and manipulate your Excel data.
What's included
9 videos3 readings6 assignments
9 videos•Total 35 minutes
- Week 4 Introduction•2 minutes
- Week 4 Discussion•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Managing Rows and Columns•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Find and Replace•3 minutes
- Practice Video: Filtering•6 minutes
- Practice Video: Sorting•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Conditional Formatting•6 minutes
- Week 4 Wrap-up•1 minute
- Accessibility•5 minutes
3 readings•Total 60 minutes
- Download the Week 4 workbooks•5 minutes
- Week 4: Practice Challenge•30 minutes
- Week 4: Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology, and Ninja Tips•25 minutes
6 assignments•Total 103 minutes
- Working with Data: Test your skills•30 minutes
- Managing Rows and Columns•10 minutes
- Find and Replace•8 minutes
- Filtering•30 minutes
- Sorting•10 minutes
- Conditional Formatting•15 minutes
When you need to share your work, printing your Microsoft Excel spreadsheets professionally is key. This module will guide you through optimising your spreadsheets for printing by managing margins, orientation, headers & footers, and more. By the end, you'll confidently prepare your Excel files for perfect printouts every time.
What's included
9 videos5 readings6 assignments
9 videos•Total 35 minutes
- Week 5 Introduction•2 minutes
- Week 5 Discussion•3 minutes
- Practice Video: Print Preview•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Orientation, Margins and Scale•5 minutes
- Practice Video: Page Breaks•5 minutes
- Practice Video: Print Titles•4 minutes
- Practice Video: Headers and Footers•5 minutes
- Week 5 Wrap-up•1 minute
- Save Options•5 minutes
5 readings•Total 90 minutes
- Print to PDF - Setup Tips•25 minutes
- Download the Week 5 workbooks•5 minutes
- Week 5: Practice Challenge•20 minutes
- Week 5: Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology, and Ninja Tips•25 minutes
- Week 5: Excellent Tips and Resources•15 minutes
6 assignments•Total 142 minutes
- Printing: Test your skills•30 minutes
- Print Preview•12 minutes
- Orientation, Margins and Scale•10 minutes
- Page Breaks•30 minutes
- Print Titles•30 minutes
- Headers and Footers•30 minutes
Charts are powerful tools for presenting data visually. In this module, you'll learn to create and modify various charts in Microsoft Excel, transforming raw data into clear, compelling insights. By the end, you'll confidently choose and customize chart types to effectively communicate your business data.
What's included
8 videos4 readings5 assignments
8 videos•Total 35 minutes
- Week 6 Introduction•2 minutes
- Week 6 Discussion•5 minutes
- Practice Video: Basic Chart Types: Pie, Column and Line Charts•6 minutes
- Practice Video: Move and Resize Charts•6 minutes
- Practice Video: Change Chart Style & Type•5 minutes
- Practice Video: Modify Chart Elements•5 minutes
- Week 6 Wrap-up•1 minute
- Sharing Charts•5 minutes
4 readings•Total 90 minutes
- Download the Week 6 workbooks•5 minutes
- Week 6: Practice Challenge•30 minutes
- Week 6: Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology, and Ninja Tips•30 minutes
- Week 6: Excellent Tips and Resources•25 minutes
5 assignments•Total 150 minutes
- Charts: Test your skills•30 minutes
- Basic Chart Types•30 minutes
- Move and Resize Charts•30 minutes
- Change Chart Style & Type•30 minutes
- Modify Chart Elements•30 minutes
What's included
1 assignment
1 assignment•Total 60 minutes
- Final Assessment - Excel Skills for Business: Essentials•60 minutes
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Reviewed on Feb 24, 2021
This is the best course for excel beginners. Both instructors are very nice. Course is focused on essential topics and will make you strong in excel for elementary topics. Recommended for beginners.
Reviewed on Jun 10, 2020
This course is really exceptional .Everything the mentor explained is very detailed and precise.I learned a lot from this course and lookingForward to series next course.ThIs course Is really exceptI
Reviewed on Aug 3, 2020
A great course for beginners in MS Excel. This course is simply awesome. If you really want to learn something worthwhile, then this course is for you. Practice make permanent is the true line.
Frequently asked questions
In this course, we are using Microsoft Excel 2016 (Office 365) on a Windows PC with all options set to default. The Office 365 version of Excel is the latest version at the time of writing and developing this course. If you have a different version of Excel or you are using a Mac, some tools and buttons will look different, they may be located in a different spot, or some might be missing altogether. If there are any major differences, we usually point them out during the practice videos. If you cannot find a tool that we mention, you can always ask in the forums or search the Internet. Most of the functionality we demonstrate is also available in other spreadsheet programs, although the interface will look different. Most other spreadsheet software can import and export files in the Microsoft Excel format. If you are not sure which version of Excel you are using, check the Microsoft support pages for help.
If you cannot use Excel 2016 on a PC, you will be able to follow along with the videos, however, please note that some of the assessment tasks will require Excel. Where possible, we have designed assessment tasks so that users of older versions of Excel (such as 2013) can still solve them.
This course focuses on essential Microsoft Excel skills for business. You will learn to navigate the Excel interface, perform basic calculations with formulas and functions, professionally format spreadsheets, and create data visualizations using charts and graphs. These skills are foundational for any data analyst or business professional.
Yes, this course is designed for both complete beginners and those who are self-taught and wish to fill gaps in their Excel knowledge. We start with the fundamentals of Microsoft Excel and build up to more advanced essential skills, ensuring a solid foundation for all learners.
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Financial aid available,