Real situations from working spreadsheets — sales targets, commission tiers, messy exports, aged invoices. Numbered in recommended order: start at 1 and work down, or filter to what you need.
12 exercises — Beginner · for Finance
Open a cell for editing without reaching for the mouse or the formula bar.
Copy the cell above into the cells you have selected, without dragging.
Pin down what $ changes about a reference, and what it does not.
Subtract cost from revenue to find what each order actually earned.
Work out what a customer pays after their contracted discount.
Divide actual sales by target to get an achievement percentage.
Calculate the mean value of a set of customer orders.
AVERAGE
Divide campaign spend by the leads it generated.
Count how many rows meet a numeric condition.
COUNTIF
Identify the extremes in a column of values.
MAX · MIN
Pick out the second-cheapest supplier quote rather than simply the cheapest.
SMALL
Add up only the rows matching a text condition.
SUMIF
| # | Exercise | Functions | Difficulty | Time | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Edit the cell you are standing onNo dataset — this one is about your hands | — | Beginner | 2 min | 10 pts |
| 11 | Fill a formula down a columnNo dataset — this one is about your hands | — | Beginner | 3 min | 10 pts |
| 15 | What does the dollar sign actually do?Conceptual question — no dataset | — | Beginner | 3 min | 15 pts |
| 17 | Work out gross margin per orderHarbor Supply — order profitability | — | Beginner | 3 min | 10 pts |
| 19 | Apply a percentage discount to a list priceHarbor Supply — contracted distributor pricing | — | Beginner | 5 min | 15 pts |
| 21 | Calculate achievement against targetHarbor Supply — Q3 rep performance | — | Beginner | 3 min | 10 pts |
| 23 | Find the average order value with AVERAGEHarbor Supply — October orders | AVERAGE | Beginner | 3 min | 10 pts |
| 26 | Work out cost per leadHarbor Supply — spend and leads by campaign | — | Beginner | 4 min | 10 pts |
| 27 | Count orders above a threshold with COUNTIFHarbor Supply — October orders | COUNTIF | Beginner | 5 min | 15 pts |
| 28 | Find the largest and smallest orderHarbor Supply — October orders | MAX · MIN | Beginner | 4 min | 10 pts |
| 31 | Find the second-lowest quote with SMALLHarbor Supply — pallet contract tender | SMALL | Beginner | 4 min | 10 pts |
| 33 | Total sales for one region with SUMIFHarbor Supply — October orders by region | SUMIF | Beginner | 6 min | 15 pts |