For starting from zero, or only typing numbers into cells today.
Google Sheets basics in a weekend
From your first formula to totals, sorting, IF, a dropdown, a lookup, a pivot table and a chart.
Four lessons are free and need no sign-up.
Do this path on your computer.
Its lessons run in your browser on a laptop or desktop, and every step is checked as you go. Send yourself the link. Nothing is saved until you sign in.
The lessons, in order
Each one takes about 9 minutes. Four are free; the rest are in the full course.
Saturday
- 1
Your first formula
In the full course. Beginner · 7 min
Write a formula that calculates from other cells and updates by itself when they change.
See the lesson - 2
Quick totals with AutoSum
In the full course. Beginner · 7 min
Total a column in two clicks with AutoSum, and check the range it picks before you accept it.
See the lesson - 3
SUM, AVERAGE, MIN and MAX
In the full course. Beginner · 8 min
Find a column's total, average, smallest and largest value with SUM, AVERAGE, MIN and MAX, and know why an empty cell and a 0 give different averages.
See the lesson - 4
Why your formula broke when you copied it
Free · Beginner · 7 min
Lock a cell with $ so a formula keeps working when you copy it down.
Start the lesson - 5
Percent change and percent of total
In the full course. Beginner · 10 min
Work out how much each line grew since last year, and what share of the total it makes up.
See the lesson - 6
Reference another sheet
In the full course. Beginner · 8 min
Pull a number from another sheet into a summary with a formula like =Downtown!E6, so the summary stays up to date.
See the lesson - 7
Sort A to Z and by numbers
In the full course. Beginner · 8 min
Put a list in order by name or by amount, keep the header row where it is, and sort by two columns at once.
See the lesson - 8
Filter a list
In the full course. Beginner · 9 min
Show only the rows you need by picking values or setting a condition, and know that the hidden rows still count in your totals.
See the lesson
Sunday
- 9
IF: make a decision in a cell
In the full course. Beginner · 11 min
Write an IF that shows one result or another depending on a test, with text, numbers or an empty cell as the result.
See the lesson - 10
Combine first and last names
In the full course. Beginner · 8 min
Join first and last names, or any text, into one cell with & or CONCAT, with the spaces and commas where you want them.
See the lesson - 11
Make a dropdown list
Free · Confident · 7 min
Give a column a dropdown of fixed choices, pick from it, and stop anything else from being typed.
Start the lesson - 12
Look up a price with VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP
Free · Confident · 11 min
Bring each order's price over from a price list with VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP, and avoid the missing-FALSE trap.
Start the lesson - 13
Your first pivot table
Free · Confident · 10 min
Turn 200 rows of sales into totals by region, read the answer, and re-ask the question by rep or product.
Start the lesson - 14
Column and bar charts
In the full course. Confident · 9 min
Turn a small table into a column chart, give it a title and labels, and know when a bar chart reads better.
See the lesson
Other paths in the Google Sheets course
Lookups without the #N/A
For matching lists by hand today: prices, product names, staff details, commission tiers.
9 lessons · about 1 h 30 min · 2 free · Beginner to Advanced
See the pathReports that don't break
For a weekly or monthly report other people rely on.
11 lessons · about 1 h 45 min · 2 free · Beginner to Confident
See the pathGoogle Sheets for small business
For quotes, stock and money kept in a spreadsheet.
12 lessons · about 2 h 15 min · 3 free · Confident
See the pathPivot tables by Monday
For summarizing a sales or expense list for a meeting.
7 lessons · about 1 h 5 min · 1 free · Confident
See the pathClean up messy data
For exports, CSVs and form responses that need tidying before anyone can use them.
10 lessons · about 1 h 30 min · 1 free · Beginner to Confident
See the pathGet the full course
Every lesson in the Google Sheets course, with new lessons added as they're written.
- All 215 Google Sheets lessons open today, and every new one as it's written.
- The Roadmap, Skills and all seven paths.
- A cheat sheet for every lesson you finish.
- At checkout, add the Excel course for US$49.