4 Excel Habits That Cut Business Costs

Microsoft Excel, the OG graphical spreadsheet designer, is 40 years old this year. And it’s still going strong with over 1 billion users worldwide.

Its popularity may stem from being the only application for financial, data, and business analysis within the Microsoft Office suite, but its features are what keep most users loyal.

Among its users are normal people, accountants, analysts, finance specialists, businesses, public institutions, and more. Individuals use it for personal budgeting, tracking, and hobby management (like organizing collections or sports statistics).

Since it’s so versatile, in today’s article, we’ll focus on how you can cut business costs by implementing four Excel habits for you and your team. 

1. Master Excel’s Formula Toolkit

The formula toolkit in Excel is truly an impressive feature that many don’t explore enough. Sure, everyone knows about the SUM and COUNT functions, but did you know you can add conditions?

Excel features a set of powerful, logical, and dynamic functions that help you automate analysis, transform unstructured data, and build complex financial models that update automatically. With their help, you can create all sorts of customized reports, tracking systems, and forecasting analyses, which make the perfect base for smart decision-making.

Start looking into formulas like SUMIF, SUMIFS, and VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP (if available) to automate reporting and data linking across sheets. You’ll spend less time manually calculating or reconciling expenses.

2. Document and Version Control

Spreadsheets can get complex, especially when several different people work on them. To avoid wasting days trying to figure out what the v_dec_123_cost column represents or where the data is collected from, implement a documentation habit for each major file. 

Each spreadsheet must include an Admin or ReadMe tab that notes the purpose, key formulas, the definition of the category list, the last time the file was reviewed/updated, and other important information. Also, ask your employees to leave comments with explanations where they consider things could get confusing.

A clear file-naming convention is also important. Put all these rules in a document (Word or PDF) and make sure everyone working with spreadsheets has easy access to it.

If you use the cloud-based version, you can also activate AutoSave to automatically create snapshots (versions) of the file as you and your colleagues work. If you need to see an older version, go to the Version History pane and select the one you want.

3. Using Templates

Templates are a godsend for anyone who has to organize and figure out different types of data. They help you save time and maintain consistency, especially for business functions like expense tracking, budgeting, and financial reporting.

Plus, third-party tools like invoice software also use Excel templates for various documents (invoices, reports, etc.). Take a look at Invoice Simple’s online templates — you can download them in Excel format, fill in the data, and move on to the next task. It’s that simple!

Excel also comes with several professional, ready-to-use templates for different scenarios:

• Business: Invoices, inventory lists, project planners.
• Personal finance: Monthly budgets, checkbook registers.
• Lists and trackers: Calendars, to-do lists, expense reports.
• Charts and analysis: Stock trackers, loan amortization schedules

4. Use Absolute and Relative Cell References

Absolute and relative cell references are fundamental concepts in Excel that determine how a cell reference behaves when its formula is copied to other cells. Mastering this is key to building efficient, scalable spreadsheets, especially for financial models and expense trackers.

A relative reference is the default way Excel refers to a cell. The reference changes when you copy the formula to another cell. It changes relative to its new position. It’s extremely useful when you want to perform the same calculation across many rows or columns of data (e.g., calculating the total for every line item in a sales report).

An absolute reference is “locked” and does not change when you copy the formula to another cell. The dollar sign ($A$1) acts as an anchor, and the reference remains constant regardless of where you copy the formula.

This is great for when you are referencing a single fixed value, like a tax rate, a commission percentage, or a starting budget figure, that must be used for all calculations on the sheet.

Wrap Up

You can do a lot more with MS Excel, so take these four habits as the starting line. Overall, each habit that automates or streamlines an office activity will help you cut costs and improve productivity.