Microsoft Excel is the cornerstone of corporate data organization. Mastering basic and intermediate formulas boosts workplace efficiency dramatically. Here are 15 formulas every beginner should know.
1. Basic Calculation Formulas
=SUM(A1:A10)— Adds all numerical values in range A1 to A10.=AVERAGE(B1:B20)— Calculates the arithmetic mean of specified cells.=MIN(C1:C50)&=MAX(C1:C50)— Finds lowest and highest numerical values.
2. Counting Formulas
=COUNT(A1:A100)— Counts cells containing numbers.=COUNTA(A1:A100)— Counts all non-empty cells (numbers, text, symbols).=COUNTIF(B1:B100, "Passed")— Counts cells matching a specific criteria.
3. Conditional Logical Formulas
Use the IF function to return different values depending on whether a condition is true or false:
=IF(C2 >= 40, "Pass", "Fail")Combine multiple conditions with AND or OR:
=IF(AND(C2>=40, D2>=75), "Distinction", "Regular Pass")4. Text Manipulation Formulas
=CONCAT(A2, " ", B2)— Merges First Name and Last Name with a space.=UPPER(A2)/=LOWER(A2)— Converts text case.=TRIM(A2)— Removes unnecessary leading or trailing spaces.
5. Lookup Formulas
For cross-table queries, refer to official Microsoft documentation on Excel Lookup Functions or read our in-depth VLOOKUP vs XLOOKUP Guide.