Top Useful Functions in EXCEL
There are hundreds of functions in Excel, and playing different roles in manipulating cells in Excel. I listed the most important functions to help me and viewers to get familia with them.
Introduction
As someone with a background in computer science and experience in data analysis, I’ve always valued the versatility of Excel as a tool for both personal and professional use. Whether it’s crunching numbers, managing data, or simplifying complex calculations, Excel has been a cornerstone in my daily work-especially as I’ve transitioned into marketing coordination and explored data analysis more deeply. In this article, I’ll be sharing some of the top useful Excel functions that consistently helped me tackle data-related challenges efficiently and effectively.
In this article, I will categorize the various Excel functions into different groups, providing a clear explanation of each specific function along with its syntax. Additionally, I will present practical example to illustrate their usage, ensuring that both beginners and experienced users can benefit. Along the way, I’ll also share some useful tips for optimizing these functions to enhance your productivity and streamline your work in Excel.
OK, let hop into the Excel’s functions world!
Date and Time Functions
Date and time functions are essential when working with dates, times, and durations in Excel, offering a wide range of capabilities for handling temporal data. These functions allow you to easily calculate the number of days, months, or even years between two dates, which is especially useful for project management, aging reports, or financial forecasting.
Additionally, they enable you to automate the insertion of the current date and time using functions like TODAY() and NOW(), ensuring your date is always up to date without manual input. You can use these functions to extract specific parts of a date, such as the year, month, or day, or to combine separate values - such as day, month, and year - into a single cohesive date using functions like DATE(). Furthermore, advanced functions like WORKDAY() and NETWORKDAYS() help calculate workdays or exclude weekends and holidays, which is critical for scheduling and time-sensitive tasks.
- Function: TODAY, NOW, DATE, DATEDIF.
| Function | Description | Syntax |
|---|---|---|
| TODAY | Returns the current system date. | TODAY() - with no arguments. |
| NOW | Returns the current date and time. | NOW() - with no arguments. |
| DATE | Returns a date based on the arguments: year, month and day. | DATE(year,month,day) |
| DATEDIF | Calculates the number of days, months, or years between two dates. | DATEDIF(start_date,end_date,unit) |
- Function: YEAR, MONTH, EOMONTH, DAY.
| Function | Description | Syntax |
|---|---|---|
| YEAR | Returns the year of a date. | YEAR(serial_number) |
| MONTH | Returns the month of a date. | MONTH(serial_number) |
| DAY | Returns the day of a date. | DAY(serial_number) |
| EOMONTH | Returns the serial number for the last day of the month that is the indicated number of months before or after start_date. | EOMONTH(start_date, months) |
- Function: WEEKDAY, NETWORKDAYS.
| Function | Description | Syntax |
|---|---|---|
| WEEKDAY | Returns the day of the week corresponding to a date. The day is given as an integer, ranging from 1 (Sunday) to 7 (Saturday), by default. | WEEKDAY(serial_number, [return_type]) |
| NETWORKDAYS | Returns the number of whole working days between start_date and end_date. | NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays]) |
Top 10 Date and Time Functions in Excel I Learned