How to Use Excel for Accounting

how to use excel for accounting Microsoft office spreadsheets bookkeeping taxes

Did you know that over 750 million people still use Microsoft Excel? It is a great program that is easy to use and can help you and your business do several tasks, such as data analysis and accounting.

If you want to improve your business then keep reading to find out how to use Excel for accounting.


How to Use Excel for Accounting, Successfully

Using a program like Microsoft Office Excel for your accounting spreadsheets can help save your business time and money. Once you and your employees are familiar with MS Excel and the formulas you need to use, the process becomes very easy.


1. Use Excel for Cash Basis Accounting

Small businesses often use and rely on cash basis accounting. Accounting in Excel using cash basis accounting is easy to do and can help keep your finances in order. All you have to do is open a new worksheet and create column headers for the following: date, transaction, description, and transaction number. You should also include columns for income, expense, and account balance.

It might be useful to make monthly cash basis accounting sheets, so you can find specific costs easier.


2. Make Use of Formatting

Excel bookkeeping helps you keep track of your business's finances but it can also save you time. Using formatting features ensures you and your team can quickly input data and highlight any important expenses or invoices.

There is a whole range of formatting features available that are designed to speed up the process of data input. You can also use these features to segregate your columns so they are easier to read and analyze.


3. Display Data With Sparklines

Sparklines is an Excel feature that will help make your data presentations easier. Sparklines allows you to display small charts in individual Excel cells, such as line charts or bar charts. To do this, select the range of numbers you want to be included and select the 'Insert' menu to choose one of the chart options and then select a location range.


4. Excel Templates

If you don't have time to learn the ins and outs of Microsoft Excel, why not rely on the trusted templates provided? There are plenty to choose from and you can edit them to suit your business's needs. 

Alternatively, you can save your own templates in Excel and use them in the future.


5. Create Tables Quickly

In a rush but really need to input the finances of the day? Whether it is the end of the day or you only have a few seconds before a meeting, you can quickly create a table by selecting the cells you want to be included and pressing Ctrl+T. How convenient!


Follow Our Guide on Using Excel Accounting

As you can see, Microsoft Excel can help you create effective accounting spreadsheets that are accurate and detailed. If you want to improve your business, implement our tips on how to use Microsoft Excel sheets for accounting.

Read some of our other blog posts to find out more about how you can improve your business and finances with frugal hacks. Visit the Frugal Finance and Investing sections of our site right now for more financial insights or software use!

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