Practical spreadsheet notes.

COUNTIF Not Counting Correctly in Excel

COUNTIF can miss rows when criteria, spaces, numbers, dates, or ranges do not match. Learn the common causes and clean fixes.

Google Sheets

Google Sheets IF Statement

Use the IF statement in Google Sheets to return different values based on a condition, with practical examples for statuses, dates, and review flags.

Google Sheets

How to Make a Pivot Table in Google Sheets

Create a pivot table in Google Sheets to summarize rows by category, owner, date, or status without rebuilding manual reports.

How to Use the INDIRECT Function in Excel

Use INDIRECT in Excel to turn text into a reference, with examples for sheet names, dynamic ranges, and common errors to avoid.

How to Use the OFFSET Function in Excel

Use OFFSET in Excel to return a range shifted from a starting cell, with examples for rolling windows, summaries, and safer alternatives.

How to Fix Circular References in Excel

A circular reference in Excel means a formula depends on itself. Learn how to find the loop, repair formulas, and avoid hidden total errors.

How to Fix the #NAME? Error in Excel

The #NAME? error in Excel means a formula contains text Excel does not recognize. Learn the common causes and clean fixes.

How to Fix the #NUM! Error in Excel

The #NUM! error in Excel means a formula produced an invalid number. Learn how to fix impossible inputs, overflow, and iteration issues.

Why SUMIF Is Not Working in Excel

SUMIF may fail when ranges do not match, criteria are typed incorrectly, or source data is dirty. Learn how to debug it.

Why VLOOKUP Returns the Wrong Value in Excel

VLOOKUP can return the wrong value when match mode, column indexes, duplicates, or dirty lookup keys are off. Learn the fixes.