What you’ll learn

How to approach an Excel dashboard project from idea to delivery
How to add interactivity to your Excel reports – No VBA required
Impress management with reports that make the decision-making process faster
Clever use of Excel core functionality for responsive spreadsheets
Learn how to create a professional KPI dashboard from scratch
Create impressive, non-standard Excel charts using smart techniques
Build Pivot Table-based dashboards for easy interactivity
Use powerful visual techniques so your content has more effect

Here’s Your Curriculum

You can view the detailed curriculum below. Click on “See a full outline” at the bottom to expand the curriculum.

See anything that jumps out? Which lesson do you think you’d begin with?

Section 1: A Foundation in Dashboards

Introduction to Excel Dashboard Course

Get the Most from the Course

Download Course Files Here (Excel Dashboards & Practice Files)

A Dashboard Primer

New Excel Dashboard Project? This is Your Checklist

Section 2:

First Steps for your Excel Dashboard Project

Create a Mockup (Wireframe) in Excel

Useful Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

4 Time-Saving Tips for Excel

Proper Spreadsheet Architecture & Workflow

Section 3: Report Design Principles

Layout – Best Practice for Excel Dashboard Design

Color – Best Practice for Excel Dashboard Design

A Color Scheme that fits with your Excel Report

10 Concrete Design Tips for Better Excel Reports

Bonus: Setting a Default Theme for New Workbooks in Excel

Quiz: Excel Report Design – Test Your Knowledge

Section 4: Dashboard Source Data & Formats

Where is Your Source Data?

Source: Excel Spreadsheet

Source: Microsoft Access

Source: Text / Data / CSV File

Source: Excel Add-ins

Section 5: Excel Dashboard Formula Toolbox

Excel Formulas You’ll Need for Impressive Dashboards

Index Match for Complex Lookups – Basics

Index Match for Complex Lookups – Advanced

Index for Dynamic Drop-down List Selection

Realistic Case: Index for Dependent Drop-down Lists in Excel

SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, AVERAGEIFS to Handle Multiple Criteria

LARGE and SMALL for Sorting Excel Data

ROW(S), COLUMN(S) for Indexing

ROW as Unique Identifier for Lookups

CHOOSE for Flexibility

Excel Text Function for Formatting

Excel N Function for Tracking

GetPivotData: Extract data Efficiently from Pivot Tables

INDIRECT for Flexible References in Excel

Choose & Excel Name Manager for Flexible Ranges (Alternative to Indirect)

Section 6: Form Controls for Interactive Excel Dashboards

Introduction to Form Controls – Active X vs. Form Controls

Combo Box – Select From a Drop Down List in Excel

Check Box – Check / Uncheck Option in Excel

Spin Button – Move Up & Down Lists in Excel

Option Button – Choose One Option Only

List Box – Select From a List of Options in Excel

Scroll Bar – Scroll Through Excel Graphs & Tables

Bonus: Dependent Combo Boxes (2nd list automatically resets)

Section 7: Advanced Excel Chart Techniques

Chart Overview & When to Use Which Graph

Excel Chart Basics (for those who need to get familiar with basic features)

Add Total Values to Stacked Excel Column Charts

Better Charts: Add Dynamic Series Labels Inside Excel Charts

Excel Chart Secret: Error Bars for Additional Control

Pro Excel Chart Technique: Changing Chart Ranges

Info-graphics in Excel: Non-standard but Impressive Bar Chart

Dynamic Excel Map Chart with Drop-down

Section 8 – 13: * KPI Excel Dashboard – Start HERE *

How You Can Follow Along & Download Documentation

Excel KPI Dashboard Overview

Bonus: If You Have Office 2021 or Microsoft 365

Section 8: KPI Excel Dashboard Setup

Excel KPI Dashboard Overview

Dashboard Wireframe in Excel

Spreadsheet Setup

Setup of Raw Data Sheet

Setup of Excel Calculation Sheet

Section 9: KPI Dashboard – Scrolling Table & Bars

Setup a Combo Box to Ease Selection

Complex Lookup with Index & Match in Excel

Scrolling Data Table in Excel

Conditionally-Formatted Data Bars

Arrows for Deviations in Excel

Formatting of Scrolling Data Table

Section 10: KPI Dashboard – Dynamic Headers

Conditional Comments in Header

Adding Shapes & Text boxes in Excel

Section 11: KPI Dashboard – Top/Bottom KPI Based on Selection

Show Top 6 Matches with Unique Identifier

List Box to Select KPI for Top 6 Matches

Option Button to Toggle Between Top OR Bottom 6

Actual to Budget Comparison – Sorted Bars with Error Bar Technique

Finalize Top / Bottom Report on Dashboard

Section 12: KPI Dashboard – Scrolling Line Chart with Check Boxes

Complex Excel Lookup to Prepare data for Scrolling Chart

Scroll-able Line Chart

Trick to Avoid Crashing Lines in an Excel Line Chart

Check Box to Control Series Visibility in Excel (Hide or Show)

Excel Line Series Tweaks for Better Readability

Finalize Profit Comparison Section on Dashboard

Section 13: KPI Dashboard – Final Touches

Restrict Excel Dashboard Area and Format for Printing

Excel Dashboard Protection, Hyperlinks and Final Touches

Download Excel Dashboard Final Version

Section 14: * Regional (Pivot / Slicer) Dashboard *

More Interactivity – Pivot Slicers as Buttons (also without Pivot Tables)

Column Chart Controlled by Pivot Slicer Buttons

Pivot Slicer Custom Sorting & Design

Check to Ensure Single Pivot Slicer Button is Selected

Dynamic Excel Comments with Pivot Slicer Selection

Section 15: Regional Dashboard – Advanced Excel Pivot Table Techniques

Variances in Excel Pivot Tables

Conditional Formatting in Excel Pivot Tables

Pivot Table as Part of Excel Dashboard Report

Pivot Charts in Excel Dashboards

Automatically Refresh Pivot Table with Simple VBA code

Section 16: Regional Dashboard – Impressive Charts Using Shapes

Info Charts: Adding Shapes to (Pivot) Charts

Info Charts: Overcoming Pivot Chart Limitations in Excel

Section 17: Dashboard Secrets for Impressive Excel Reports

Excel Camera for Improved Design

Advanced Excel Camera – Lookups on Pictures

Dashboard Complete – Final Touches

Download the final version of the Slicer/Regional Dashboard

Section 18: What You Learnt

Final Words

** Next Steps – BONUS

Description

Creating an impressive, interactive Microsoft Excel Dashboard from scratch is not easy!

I used to stare at my empty sheet and wonder where do I even start?

You need a structured process in place to go from idea to outcome in a smooth way.

You’ll find out all about it in the course. We setup two fully functioning dashboards from scratch.

This course doesn’t just teach you a set of functions and features, but how you can use them together to create impressive reports.

It teaches you how to approach a new Dashboard project and how to structure your work so maintaining the dashboard becomes very easy not just for yourself but for anyone else.

★ Note: Course recently updated to include the OFFICE 365 & OFFICE 2021 version of the KPI dashboard. You can download that version if you have Office 365 and see how you can use FILTER, SEQUENCE, XLOOKUP and other newer Excel functions to create the dashboard ★

What students are saying

“This course provides a lot of great tips which you can immediately apply to your spreadsheets, no matter what standard of user you are. I have been working in excel for a number of years and I am amazed at the number of simple tips I have learnt in such a short time. Fantastic.” — Carl Postians

“I learned something new and very useful in the first 10 minutes…awesome!” — Nancy Bowens

What you learn

This course teaches you to create well-designed Excel dashboards so you and your colleagues can see trends and make quick decisions informed by data.

This Microsoft Excel Dashboard course comes with templates, tools and checklists that can be applied directly to your Excel reports.

Excel dashboard & Report templates
Checklists and design guidelines
Excel workbook to follow along

What differentiates this course from the other Microsoft Excel Dashboard courses?

It includes:

The entire process from idea to delivery – every single step without skipping key points.
Tried-and-trusted techniques that are not only applicable to Excel dashboards but any Excel report.
Includes Excel templates, tools and checklists that you can use for your own Excel reports.
Relevant and up-to-date with industry needs right now, as it’s based on feedback and suggestions from finance professionals.
Lots of ideas and inspiration to help you come up with own report design

Complex topics are taught in a simple way by an instructor with 17 years of experience.

The course is designed to have an even balance between talking head and screen-cast.

Content is clearly organised so more advanced learners can jump in at any point and follow along with the relevant project file.

Who this course is for:

Business Professionals who use Excel to create dashboards and reports
Data analysts
You currently use Excel and want to improve your skills
You’d like to learn how to create interactive reports
You’d like to improve the design of your existing Excel reports