Microsoft Excel: Our Secret Weapon

Over a billion of us use it - do you know how it started?

If there’s one tool that every seasoned EA should have in their back pocket, it’s Microsoft Excel. It’s been called everything from a spreadsheet to a superpower, and for good reason: it can track, plan, analyse, forecast, and even automate your workflows.

Whether you're managing diaries, planning events, compiling expense reports, or creating executive dashboards, Excel is a foundational skill that has stood the test of time. But how well do you really know it? In this week’s Extra Wrap, we’re diving deep into Excel—how it works, how it stacks up against Google Sheets, and why it still matters in a world full of apps.

No matter what app or software you are using, chances are there’s someone in your organisation who will default back to an Excel spreadsheet or a Google Sheet. It can be infuriating, but it’s essential to understand it so that you can use what these people are sending you.

Also, there are a lot of companies who aren’t in a position to pay out for additional software - perhaps for financial reasons, or because they simply don’t allow additional third party applications. For those reasons, you might be stuck with Excel, despite desperately wanting to try out newer options.

This article isn’t going to give you step by step instructions on how to use Excel. There are many, many, courses and trainers out there who can do this significantly better than I can. This article is to show you what’s possible so that you can go and learn what you need to. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know. And what you don’t know exists, you can’t look up.

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A Power Tool for the Organised

🧠 What Is Excel, Really?

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application. But don’t let that simple definition fool you—it’s one of the most powerful pieces of software in modern business. At its core, Excel lets you store, organise, and manipulate data using rows and columns in a workbook. But what elevates it from digital paper to powerhouse is the ability to perform calculations, automate tasks, and generate visual reports.

📋 Key Features That Matter to EAs

Here are just a few of the ways that we are already using (or could be using) Excel:

• Task and project tracking – With filters, checkboxes, and conditional formatting, Excel can become your to-do list on steroids.

• Budgeting and expenses – Keep tabs on department budgets, reconcile statements, and build reusable monthly templates.

• Travel itineraries – Build travel plans with times, costs, confirmation numbers, and hyperlinks to maps or tickets.

• People and asset tracking – Keep lists of contacts, equipment, or subscriptions—whatever your exec needs you to manage.

And with tools like pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and Power Query, your spreadsheets can do so much more than store data—they can tell stories and surface insights.

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The Real Power Beneath the Grid

🔍 Formulas & Functions

Excel includes hundreds of functions you can use in formulas to automate calculations and make sense of data. If you’ve ever summed a column of numbers using =SUM(A1:A10), you’re already a formula user.

Some especially useful formulas for EAs include:

• IF() – For building logical conditions.