We know that many small charities and community groups rely on Microsoft Excel to manage everything from budgets and contact lists to event planning and reporting. It’s a powerful tool... but let’s be honest, it can also feel overwhelming at times.
With so many tabs, buttons, and features, it’s easy to miss the shortcuts and customisations that can make your work faster and easier. That’s why we’ve put together this practical guide to help you get more confident with Excel and save valuable time on everyday tasks.
Let’s start with one of the simplest but most effective ways to personalise Excel.
Adding your favourite commands to your quick access toolbar
One of the easiest ways to make Excel work better for you is by customising the Quick Access Toolbar. It's a small but mighty feature that can save you loads of time.
The Quick Access Toolbar sits right at the top of your Excel window, above the ribbon (where all your tabs like Home, Insert, and View live). By default, it includes a few basic commands like Save, Undo, and Redo — but did you know you can add your own favourite tools to it?
This means you don’t have to keep switching between tabs to find the commands you use most often. Whether it’s Freeze Panes, Sort & Filter, or Print Preview, you can pin them to the top of your screen for one-click access, no matter where you are in your workbook.
Here's how to do it...
Right click on the command button - e.g. Freeze Panes (in the View tab and Windows group) and select Add to Quick Access Toolbar
It will then be easily accessible at the top of your workbook:
Do you use a PC and love a keyboard shortcut?
Excel has lots of options that can help you speedily move about and manage your spreadsheets. Here are some of our favourites:
Get started
Create a new workbook.............Ctrl + N
Save a workbook.......................Ctrl + S
Print a workbook.......................Ctrl + P
Spell check.....................................F7
Create an 'absolute' cell reference...F4
Navigate around your sheet
Right one cell .......................Tab
Left one cell .........................Shift + Tab
Down one cell ......................Enter
Up one cell ..........................Shift + Enter
To cell A1 .............................Ctrl + Home
To last cell ...........................Ctrl + End
Edit your sheet
Cut ......................................Ctrl + X
Copy ....................................Ctrl + C
Paste ....................................Ctrl + V
Undo ....................................Ctrl + Z
Redo ....................................Ctrl + Y
Find ......................................Ctrl + F
Replace ................................Ctrl + H
Format your sheet
Bold ......................................Ctrl + B
Open 'Format Cells' dialog box ...Ctrl + Shift+ F
Select All ...............................Ctrl + A
Select entire row ....................Shift + Space
Select entire column ..............Ctrl + Space
Remember, you don’t need to be an expert to use Excel effectively. Start small, explore at your own pace, and don’t be afraid to try things out.
We hope this quick resource was a good jumping board to get you started. What are your top tips for Excel?
Get in touch so we can add them to this page!
