Excel, the most reliable tool to use for anything that’s related to lists and data. However, as easy as it is to use, Excel’s reliability begins to diminish as soon as our datasets grow. It may be easy for us to manage our inventory of donations for over a month or a year, but once that grows past a certain point, it becomes increasingly difficult for us to actually make sense of an expanding sheet, right?
As our datasets grow and our sheets become more massive, this is where Excel’s PivotTables come in handy. To summarize, PivotTables are smarter tables, allowing you to filter and rearrange your data. Unlike the table function, PivotTables allows you to choose which data goes where – allowing you to easily sift through massive sheets by dictating which fields would fall under columns and rows, and which values you want to compare.
Learn how to create PivotTables here:
In addition, PivotTables also allow you to create PivotCharts. These charts easily reflect the data you chose for your Pivot Tables through quick charts and graphs, allowing you to easily analyse any trends within your data. You can learn how to create PivotCharts here.
Sounds good? Managing data can be a chore, but remember, it’s essential for any organization to have a proper data management plan. For other data resources for NGOs, you may want to look into the Power BI donations, a tool that allows you to easily summarize and sift through multiple spreadsheets at once!
PowerBI is available to all qualified NGOs that are already running Office 365. You can learn more about it here.