Excel for beginners: work with dates, currencies and shared data

Excel helps you organise information, calculate results and share a working file. For international work, check how dates and numbers are interpreted, keep currencies distinct and limit access to personal data.

This tutorial takes you from a blank workbook to a reusable multi-currency budget. Practise with the illustrative figures rather than real business or personal data.

Start a workbook and calculate your first total

A workbook is an Excel file containing worksheets, shown as tabs. Each worksheet is a grid: columns have letters, rows have numbers, and a cell is where they meet. A1 is the cell in column A, row 1. The ribbon at the top contains tools for formatting, importing and reviewing data.

Open Excel and create a blank workbook. Choose File > Save As, name it and save it as .xlsx. To open it later, use File > Open.
Enter Category in A1 and Amount in B1. Enter Travel in A2, 100 in B2 and 200 in B3.
In B4, enter =SUM(B2:B3). Excel displays 300. The colon means "through", so the formula adds B2 through B3.
In B5, enter =AVERAGE(B2:B3). The result is 150. In B6, enter =IF(B2>100,"Over","Not over"). The result is Not over.

A formula begins with =. Select B6 and look at the formula bar: the cell shows the result, while the bar shows the formula. To edit an entry, select the cell and use the formula bar or double-click the cell. Change B2 and watch the results update.

If the IF formula produces an error, your Excel settings may require semicolons between arguments: =IF(B2>100;"Over";"Not over").

Format values without changing them

Select a cell or range, then use the Home tab's number-format controls to choose a number, date or currency display. Formatting usually changes the appearance, not the underlying value. Enter an amount as a number rather than typing a currency symbol into the cell: an entry stored as text may not calculate or sort as expected.

Keep one item per row and one type of information per column. Put the date, amount and description in separate cells.

Choose regional settings before importing data

Regional settings affect date order, decimal symbols, digit grouping and formula separators. For example, 1,234 can mean one thousand two hundred and thirty-four or a number just over one, depending on the convention. An illustrative date such as 03/04/2026 can also be read in two orders.

Decide what to change

Only the display needs changing? Select the cells and choose a date or number format. This does not reliably repair a value that has already been interpreted incorrectly.
A file is arriving from another locale? Specify the source locale during import, then compare dates and amounts with the original.
Your Excel display needs different conventions? In Excel for the web, look under Settings > Region. Interface names can change; check Microsoft's current instructions.
Using desktop Excel? Language choices are under File > Options > Language in Windows versions, but language and regional number formats are not the same setting. Under File > Options > Advanced, you can clear Use system separators and set decimal and thousands separators in supported Windows versions. This is an Excel application setting, not a workbook-only override. Menus and options vary by platform and version.
Need a system-wide change? Change your device's regional settings only when you want the change to affect other applications too.

Agree with collaborators on date conventions, source-data locale, currencies and who checks imports. Spell out the month in messages. For shared date fields, agree on an unambiguous yyyy-mm-dd representation and check that Excel recognises the entries as dates.

Import a CSV with the source locale

Use .xlsx to preserve worksheets, formulas and formatting. CSV is plain text for exchanging rows and does not preserve the workbook in the same way.

In desktop Excel, choose Data > From Text/CSV, select the file and choose Transform Data. In Power Query, remove an automatic Changed Type step if it interpreted columns before you selected the source locale. Select a date or number column, choose Data Type > Using Locale, then select its type and the locale used in the source file. Repeat for relevant columns, then choose Close & Load.

Menu labels vary by version. Check an ambiguous date and a decimal amount against the original before calculating. Do not assume the preview detected them correctly.

Build a reusable multi-currency tracker

A currency format changes the symbol, not the value. Choose one base currency for combined reporting; retain the original amount and currency for checking. Never add original amounts in different currencies as if they were one total.

This exercise uses fictional currencies A and B and invented practice rates. One unit of B is worth two units of A in this example; these are not real rates.

Rename your worksheet Settings. In A1:D1 enter Currency, Units of A per unit, Rate date and Source. Enter A and 1 in A2:B2, and B and 2 in A3:B3. Add a practice date and Illustrative as the source for each rate.
In F1 enter Categories; enter Travel in F2 and Supplies in F3. Select F2:F3, type Categories in the name box to the left of the formula bar and press Enter.
Add a sheet named Transactions. Across A1:G1 enter Date, Category, Amount, Currency, Rate to A, Amount in A and Personal data?.
Select the cells below the Category heading. Choose Data > Data Validation, select List and enter =Categories as the source. Choose a category from the resulting list for each row.
Enter two practice transactions: Travel, 100, A in columns B:D of row 2; and Supplies, 100, B in row 3. Enter N in G2 and G3.
In E2 enter =IFERROR(VLOOKUP(D2,Settings!$A$2:$B$3,2,FALSE),""). This looks up the currency in Settings and returns its rate; an unknown currency leaves the cell blank. In F2 enter =IF(E2="","",C2*E2). Copy E2:F2 down to row 3.
Add a sheet named Dashboard. Put Travel in A2 and Supplies in A3. In B2 enter =SUMIFS(Transactions!$F$2:$F$100,Transactions!$B$2:$B$100,A2) and copy it to B3. The practice totals should be 100 and 200 in A.

If your locale uses semicolons, replace the commas separating formula arguments with semicolons. The $ signs keep the lookup range fixed when copied. Extend the rate range when you add currencies, and extend the dashboard ranges when transactions go beyond row 100.

Check for blank rates and converted amounts before using the dashboard. Totals ignore blanks, so an incomplete total can look valid. A Y in Personal data? is a prompt to review the row before sharing, not an automatic privacy control.

Format amounts and maintain rates

For real currencies, select the cells containing one currency, open Format Cells > Currency and choose its symbol. Repeat for each currency range. Currency format puts the symbol next to the number; Accounting format aligns symbols for easier scanning. Format the converted column with the base-currency symbol and label it clearly. See Microsoft's currency-format guide.

For each actual rate, record its source and date and confirm that it means base-currency units per one unit of the original currency. If a source quotes the reverse, check the conversion before entering it. Verify current rates with an appropriate financial source before a transaction; estimates and payment rates can differ. Consult a qualified financial professional about individual decisions.

The lookup uses the rate currently in Settings. Changing it recalculates every matching transaction, including older ones. If your report requires historical rates, preserve an approved snapshot or use a dated rate for each transaction rather than overwriting the only rate.

Protect personal data and share one working copy

Collect only data needed for the stated task. Decide who needs access and how long the data should be kept. If the task involves sensitive personal data, systematic monitoring or substantial processing, stop and ask your privacy team whether the workbook is appropriate. Use an approved dedicated system where required; Excel alone does not make processing GDPR-compliant. Consult a qualified privacy or legal professional about individual obligations.

Before sharing, review the transactions, comments and other sheets. In supported desktop versions, use File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document on a copy, review the findings and remove information that should not be shared. A hidden sheet is not security. Workbook protection is not a substitute for access controls.

Save the working copy in an approved OneDrive or SharePoint location. Use Share, choose Specific people where available, set view or edit permission, and add an expiry if your organisation's settings allow it. Review existing access and remove people who no longer need it. Avoid distributing attachments when an access-controlled link will do.

Colleagues can co-author the shared workbook in Excel for the web. Use comments for questions and @mentions to alert a reviewer. Open Version History from the file's menu or information area to inspect or restore an earlier version. Older versions and copies can retain personal data, so follow your organisation's retention and deletion process rather than assuming that deleting a cell removes every copy.

Assign someone to check rates and someone to review the final totals. For agreeing responsibilities across time zones, see digital team alignment.

The Pro section covers repeatable import, reporting and review workflows.

Import recurring files with Power Query

A repeatable import is useful when the same source regularly sends a file in the same layout. It is dangerous when the source silently changes its date or decimal convention.

Import a sample through Data > From Text/CSV > Transform Data. Keep the original file unchanged.
In Power Query, inspect the applied steps. Remove an automatic type-conversion step if it used the wrong locale.
Set each date and numeric column with Data Type > Using Locale. Rename columns to match your tracker and remove columns the task does not need.
Load the result to a separate worksheet. Keep it separate from manually entered transactions so a refresh does not overwrite your notes.
Refresh with a new sample and compare its row count, an ambiguous date and a decimal amount with the source.

If the source changes its column headings, currency codes or conventions, stop and adjust the query before trusting the results. Keep an unmodified source copy according to your organisation's retention rules. To decide which recurring work is worth automating first, use the prioritisation guide.

Report converted transactions with a PivotTable

A PivotTable groups rows without requiring a separate formula for each category. It should summarise the converted column, not mixed original amounts.

Select the Transactions data, including headings, and choose Insert > PivotTable. Place it on a new worksheet.
Drag Category to Rows and Amount in A to Values. Confirm the calculation is Sum, not Count.
Add Currency to Filters if you want to inspect transactions from one original currency without changing the base-currency measure.
Add a transaction, expand the PivotTable's source range if needed, and refresh it. Check the result against the dashboard and inspect rows with blank rates.

A PivotTable can produce a convincing total from incomplete data. Resolve missing rates and confirm the reporting period and rate policy before sharing it. If rates in Settings change, both the converted transactions and the refreshed report may change.

Design a controlled review workflow

Separate automation from approval. A workflow can flag unknown currencies, blank rates and rows marked as containing personal data; a person still decides whether the source rate is suitable and whether sharing is permitted.

For a recurring report, assign an owner to update rates, a reviewer to compare converted totals with source transactions, and an approver to control access. Record the rate source and date with the reporting copy. Test the workflow with fictional data before connecting it to real files.

If you later use an agent to prepare or check the workbook, restrict its access to the data needed for that task and require human review before it changes rates or shares a file. The guide to agentic workflows explains how to design those handoffs.

Excel for Global Professionals: Locales, Currencies & GDPR