Excel Dashboards: Insightful Data

Designed for confident Excel users, this course will help you go beyond spreadsheets and into dynamic, interactive dashboards that make data easy to digest - and most importantly, act on.

You’ll learn how to structure your data effectively, apply advanced formulas, and build visually engaging dashboards using charts, PivotTables, slicers, and conditional formatting. By the end of the session, you’ll have the skills and confidence to create dashboards that bring clarity, impact, and insight to your reports.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you'll be able to: 

• Build interactive dashboards using Excel’s built-in tools

• Transform static spreadsheets into compelling visual reports

• Gain confidence using advanced functions, slicers, timelines, and charts

• Learn to structure and clean data effectively for dashboard use

• Apply visual and logical techniques to highlight key insights

Who Is This Course For?

This course is ideal for:

• Intermediate Excel users ready to enhance their reporting skills

• Professionals who want to visualise data and drive better decision-making

• Anyone looking to create dashboards that are clear, interactive, and impactful

Prerequisites: You should be confident with core Excel skills, including basic formulas, navigation, and data handling.

Course Outline

Understanding The Power of Dashboards

• Overview of Excel dashboards and what they can do for you

• Real-world examples and design principles

• Understanding your reporting goals and dashboard audience

Essential Excel Functions for Dashboards

• Logical functions (e.g. IF, AND, OR)

• Statistical functions (e.g. AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX/MIN)

• Lookup functions (e.g. VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP)

• Date and text functions for smart data formatting

Defined Name Ranges & Data Validation

• Creating and managing named ranges

• Using names in formulas for clarity

• Applying data validation for cleaner inputs

Using Excel’s Visual Tools

• Conditional Formatting basics and advanced rules

• Icon sets, heat maps, and data bars

• Tips and tricks for dashboard polish

Working with Tables and Slicers

• Creating structured Excel tables

• Using slicers for interactive filtering

• Connecting slicers to multiple pivot tables

Advanced Charting & Visuals

• Choosing the right chart types

• Creating sparklines for trend tracking

• Formatting and customising charts for impact

PivotTables, Timelines & Integration

• Building PivotTables for dashboard data

• Using slicers and timelines to explore data

• Creating and linking PivotCharts

Dashboard Workshops

• Hands-on dashboard building

• Combining techniques into one cohesive report

• Real-world use case exercises

Reflections & Planning

• Review of key techniques learned

• Discussion around how you can apply dashboards to your role

• Plan next steps for developing Excel mastery