ISBN: 978-1-921885-15-0 Produce Spreadsheets Excel 2010 BSBITU304A Software Publications Writing Team
Produce Spreadsheets Supporting BSBITU304A Produce Spreadsheets in the Business Services Training Package. Copyright Software Publications Pty Limited - May 2011 Software Publications Writing Team ISBN 978-1-921885-15-0 Disclaimer All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, scanning, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, Software Publications Pty Ltd. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and the authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. These learning materials have been prepared for use as part of a structured vocational education and training course and should only be used within that context. The information contained herein was correct at the time of preparation. Legislation and case law is subject to change and readers need to inform themselves of the current law at the time of reading. Software Publications Pty Ltd (ABN 75 078 026 150) Head Office - Sydney Unit 10 171 Gibbes Street Chatswood NSW 2067 Phone: (02) 9882 1000 Fax: (02) 9882 1800 Australia Toll Free Numbers: Phone: 1 800 146 542 Fax: 1 800 146 539 Web address: www.softwarepublications.com.au Published and printed in Australia
Basic Introduction to Spreadsheets If you are new to spreadsheets, we recommend that you read the following information based on material covered in BSBITU202A Create and Use Spreadsheets. If not, you can go on to Section 2: Plan, Design and Create Spreadsheets Using Functions and Formulas, page 23. The Purpose of Spreadsheets Spreadsheets are widely used by large and small businesses, educational facilities, clubs and home computer owners to perform calculations quickly and accurately. They can produce charts (graphs) to show the data in a graphic format. Spreadsheet data can be also be used in other documents such as word processed reports or electronic presentations. Spreadsheets have many uses in a business such as: to establish if the business is making money to calculate prices, discounts or GST to calculate staff sales performance to establish number of hours worked (a timesheet) to determine sales results of certain products to record information such as names, addresses etc. to manage business expenses or record petty cash Other organisational and personal use includes: to manage club membership fees to record club members names and addresses (database) to record student attendance and test results to create a home budget to manage personal finances to calculate mortgage or loan payments Software Publications Pty Ltd SECTION 1 7
The Structure of Spreadsheets A spreadsheet is made up of columns and rows that intersect to form cells. The columns are identified with letters and the rows with numbers, creating a cell reference known as the cell address. In this illustration, the active (selected) cell is A1 (Column A, Row 1) and displays with a dark outline. Row 1 Column A Spreadsheet Software Spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel uses formulae to perform calculations and can then represent the results graphically in charts. Data is displayed in columns and rows much as it was in basic bookkeeping books or for mathematical calculations done by hand. An Excel workbook (file) has multiple worksheets. Each worksheet can be used to record and calculate data for different areas of the business; for example, show all income (money earned) on one worksheet and expenditure (money spent) on another. The final calculations to determine whether the business is operating at a profit or loss can be shown on a third worksheet. Worksheets can be renamed, inserted or deleted in a workbook. Examples of Spreadsheets Here are some examples of how spreadsheets can be used. Compare Income and Expenses to Calculate Profit and Loss To establish if the business is making money, spreadsheet data would be used to compare the income against the expenses of the organisation. If the income is greater than the expenses, the business will report a surplus. It is operating at a profit as shown at the right. 8 SECTION 1 Software Publications Pty Ltd
Calculate Sales Commissions Many sales people earn a commission based on the sales they make. In the following example, a 5% commission amount is calculated based on the total sales made by each sales person. Calculate Hours Worked on Timesheets A timesheet is used to record the time each worker started and finished work on certain date, allowing the total number of hours worked to be calculated. This could then be used to calculate pay owing, as shown in the next example. Calculate Salary or Wages based on Hours Worked The hours worked for a week are entered into the following spreadsheet which then allows the gross pay, tax, the Net (take home) pay, along with bonus amounts to be calculated. Software Publications Pty Ltd SECTION 1 9
Examples of Charts Charts can be generated automatically from data in spreadsheets and used to display results graphically. Here are some examples of how charts can be used. Column Charts The Column Chart below displays income data in vertical columns. The difference between each month can be seen at a glance. Pie Charts The Pie Chart below shows total sales for each salesperson. Labels have been added so that the reader can view the values. In this chart, a segment of the Pie has been exploded to highlight the highest Total Sales value. 10 SECTION 1 Software Publications Pty Ltd
Designing Spreadsheets Before you start designing a spreadsheet, you must do your research so that you know exactly what you are designing and why. Whatever the purpose of your spreadsheet however, there are a few design constants. A spreadsheet must be built so that it can be read and understood by other people. To achieve this, it usually has: a main heading a sub-heading column headings row headings totals Main heading Sub-heading Column headings Row headings Working with Formulas Formulas are mathematical functions used to perform calculations in a spreadsheet. An = (equal sign) is used in front of every formula. This is also a good way to tell the difference between formulas and entered values (numbers) in cells. All formulas must have the = sign in front of the mathematical equation for the program to calculate a result. In the example below, the formulas for the above spreadsheet are displayed. Totals All of the formulas shown in this spreadsheet begin with =SUM. SUM is an example of a function, which is explained on the following page. Software Publications Pty Ltd SECTION 1 11
The SUM Function A function is simply a built-in formula provided by Excel. The SUM function is used to add (the sum of) columns and rows. =SUM(B5:B6) means that all values in the range B5 to B6 are being added down the column (as shown at the right). =SUM(B5:D5) means that all values in the range B5 to D% are being added across the row (as shown below). =SUM(B5:D5) Equals sign - indicates a formula) The function The cell range being worked on by the function Examples of Other Functions =AVERAGE =MIN =MAX =IF Calculates the average amount of all values across a range of cells Displays the smallest amount across a range of cells Displays the largest amount across a range of cells Calculates a true/false type of result based on a scenario The IF function is used to test the condition of a cell and return one result if the condition is true, and another (different) result if it is false. An example is shown below. If Total Sales (F2) are greater than (>) $24,000, then calculate a 5% bonus on the amount sold. Where sales are equal to or less than $24,000, the text n/a will display. This formula is written like this: =IF(F2>24000,F2*5%,"n/a") 12 SECTION 1 Software Publications Pty Ltd