Sometimes prospective customers ask me: “Should I learn Power Query or Power BI”.
Full disclosure: I provide Power Query training. So this may not be an unbiased opinion.
Continue reading “Should I learn Power Query or Power BI?”How to conditionally format a bar chart in Excel
You can’t conditionally format a bar chart in Excel – or can you? In this post I set out a couple of options for how to do this.
Continue reading “How to conditionally format a bar chart in Excel”Structuring data in spreadsheets – for humans and computers
Structuring data in spreadsheets is really important for producing good financial models and reports.
However, data designed for humans to read should look different from data designed for computers to read.
Continue reading “Structuring data in spreadsheets – for humans and computers”Excel consultancy – what is it?
What do I mean by Excel consultancy?
Here are some examples of financial modelling and Excel consultancy work I’ve done in the last six months;
Continue reading “Excel consultancy – what is it?”Does Groupby replace pivot tables?
Does GROUPBY replace pivot tables?
The new functions GROUPBY and PIVOTBY are now available in the current channel of Microsoft Excel, and I’ve been playing with them to try to answer this question.
My conclusion is that it isn’t a simple yes/no answer. What is more useful to think about is “when” or “how” GROUPBY should be used instead of a pivot table – and vice versa.
Continue reading “Does Groupby replace pivot tables?”“The key didn’t match any rows in the table” error in Power Query
“The key didn’t match any rows in the table” is one of the most common errors in Power Query.
The way it’s always explained is that it is caused when the original data changes format or name, or has been deleted.
However, there is a third, related option, which I’m writing about here because it stumped me for a while.
Continue reading ““The key didn’t match any rows in the table” error in Power Query”What I learned at the 2025 Global Excel Summit
I attended the 2025 Global Excel Summit last week – this time in person for the first time.
It’s become a bit of a tradition that I blog about what I learned, so here goes!
Continue reading “What I learned at the 2025 Global Excel Summit”New standalone power query course
I’m pleased to announce that in 2025 I’m now offering a standalone Power Query course that individuals can sign up to.
Up to this point, I’ve mostly created and delivered bespoke Excel training courses for teams. And sometimes I cover a brief introduction to Power Query within these courses.
This is because I know from experience that Power Query is an enormous time saver in a range of roles. If you find yourself doing repetitive processes in Excel (copying, pasting, updating formulas etc), you will benefit from some Power Query training.
However, I know that lots of people who would benefit the most from Power Query might not work in a team. Perhaps you are a consultant, or you’re the only finance or data person in an organisation.
You might even have tried to learn Power Query yourself but got stuck. Or perhaps you just prefer in person training.
Continue reading “New standalone power query course”REGEX formulas in Excel are now rolling out!
REGEX formulas in Excel are now rolling out in the current channel of Excel, just in time for Christmas.
In this post I want to explain why most Excel users, not just hardcore geeks, should be interested in this.
Continue reading “REGEX formulas in Excel are now rolling out!”Creating an Excel template to calculate Employer’s National Insurance changes
I posted on LinkedIn a couple of weeks ago about creating an Excel template to calculate budget impact of the changes to Employer’s National Insurance.
In this post I’ll share a few observations, both about the calculations and also the act of creating the template.
Continue reading “Creating an Excel template to calculate Employer’s National Insurance changes”