ABONVERO LEARN · SPREADSHEETS
Type the formula.
See exactly what to fix.
Practise Excel and Google Sheets formulas in a real working grid, right here in your browser. Type a formula, press Enter, and get told exactly what went wrong, from a missing quote mark to a range that stops one row short. No account, no download, and the first 6 lessons are free.
- Works for Excel
- Works for Google Sheets
- Works for LibreOffice Calc
- Progress saved on your device
LESSON 1 · FORMULAS AND CELL REFERENCES
Your first formula
A formula starts with = and points at cells by their address: column letter, then row number. When the numbers in those cells change, the answer changes with them. That's the whole point of a spreadsheet.
=B2*C2Identical in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc.
Step 1 of 3 In D2, multiply the price in B2 by the quantity in C2.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Product | Price | Qty | Total | ||||
| 2 | Notebook | 4.5 | 12 | |||||
| 3 | Pen | 1.2 | 40 | |||||
| 4 | Stapler | 9 | 3 | |||||
| 5 | Folder | 2.25 | 16 | |||||
| 6 | Marker | 1.8 | 25 | |||||
| 7 | ||||||||
| 8 | ||||||||
| 9 | ||||||||
| 10 |
Check your spreadsheet skills
Write five formulas using the invoice data below. Your answers are checked against two sets of values to see whether they still work when the numbers change. The results point you to lessons for the skills you want to practise. The check is free and runs in your browser.
| Row | A · Vendor | B · Expected USD | C · Billed USD | D · Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Design | 42 | 42 | OK |
| 3 | Storage | 25 | 31 | Review |
| 4 | 18 | 16 | Review | |
| 5 | Chat | 34 | 34 | OK |
Reconcile software invoices in Excel
Compare a list of software invoices with the amounts you expected to pay. Write formulas that flag each difference, total what you were billed, and count the invoices that need review. You can open the workbook in Excel or LibreOffice Calc, or import it into Google Sheets.
Download the free invoice reconciliation workbook (.xlsx)
- Open Worked example and select a result cell to see the formula that produced it.
- Open Try it and fill in the blank variance, status and summary cells. Compare your results after you finish.
- Return in a day or two for Try again later. Work from the new data before checking your answers.
Check your Try it results
Expected total $216.00. Billed total $215.00. Net variance −$1.00. Review two invoices: INV-209 was $5.00 over and INV-216 was $6.00 under. The net difference hides both exceptions.
Check your Try again later results
Expected total $153.00. Billed total $164.00. Net variance $11.00. Review INV-301, INV-314 and INV-323. Change INV-301’s billed amount from $47.00 to $40.00. The billed total should fall to $157.00, the net variance to $4.00 and the review count to two.
How this works
Every lesson gives you a small, realistic table: an order list, a staff list, a product sheet. It explains one idea in two or three sentences, shows the formula’s shape, and then asks you to use it. You type the formula into the highlighted cell exactly as you would in Excel or Google Sheets. The grid calculates it on the spot, like the real thing, and the coach checks the result.
When the answer is wrong, you don’t just see a red cross. You see the reason. If you write =SUMIF(C2:C8,>3,D2:D8), you’re told that a condition like >3 has to sit inside quotes. If your range is C2:C5 instead of C2:C6, you’re told it stops a row early. If you type the right number by hand instead of calculating it, you’re told to point the formula at the cells, because a typed number won’t update when the data changes. Those are the mistakes that cost people time in real work, so they’re the ones this course names.
You can click and drag across cells while writing a formula to insert their addresses, the same way you would in a desktop spreadsheet. You earn points for each step, more for getting it right first time, and your streak counts the days in a row you practise. Points and streaks stay in your browser. Free practice has no sign-up.
Why practice beats watching
Most spreadsheet training is video: someone else’s cursor moving through someone else’s workbook. It feels productive while it plays and fades soon after. Formulas are a skill of the fingers as much as the head: knowing that SUMIFS puts the sum range first, that VLOOKUP needs FALSE at the end, that text inside a formula needs quotes. You only learn those by typing them, getting them wrong, and fixing them.
So the lessons here are short and repetitive on purpose. Each one asks you to apply the same idea two to four times on slightly different cells, so the pattern is in your hands by the end. Then the next lesson builds on it.
What you’ll learn
- Your first formulaFormulas and cell referencesFree
- Adding a column with SUMSUM and rangesFree
- AVERAGE, MIN and MAXSummary statisticsFree
- Locking a cell with $Absolute referencesFree
- Making decisions with IFIFFree
- Counting with COUNTIFCOUNTIFFree
- Conditional totals with SUMIFSUMIFPro
- Several conditions with SUMIFS and COUNTIFSSUMIFS, COUNTIFSPro
- Finding a row with VLOOKUPVLOOKUPPro
- XLOOKUP, the modern lookupXLOOKUPPro
- INDEX and MATCHINDEX, MATCHPro
- Handling errors with IFERRORIFERRORPro
- Taking text apart: LEFT, RIGHT, MID, LENText functionsPro
- Putting text together: &, UPPER, TEXTJOINJoining and tidying textPro
- Two conditions at once: AND, ORAND, OR inside IFPro
- Grade bands with IFSIFS and condition orderPro
- ROUND, ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWNRoundingPro
- Percentage changeBrackets and percentagesPro
- MEDIAN versus AVERAGEMEDIAN, COUNTPro
- Averages with conditions: AVERAGEIF(S)AVERAGEIF, AVERAGEIFSPro
- Sideways tables with HLOOKUPHLOOKUPPro
The free lessons take you from your first formula to SUM, AVERAGE, MIN and MAX, locking a cell with $, IF and COUNTIF. That’s enough to build a working budget or tidy a report. Pro continues with what comes up in job tests and day-to-day office work: conditional totals with SUMIF and SUMIFS, lookups with VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP and INDEX/MATCH, error handling with IFERROR, and taking text apart and putting it back together. More lessons are added over time.
Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc?
All three. Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets and the free, open-source LibreOffice Calc share the same core formula language. SUM, IF, COUNTIF, SUMIF, VLOOKUP and INDEX/MATCH are written the same way and give the same answers in each. That’s what this course teaches, so what you learn here transfers to whichever program your job, school or home computer uses.
Where they differ, each lesson says so. Pick your program at the top of a lesson to see its note. A few examples: XLOOKUP needs Excel 2021 or Microsoft 365, is built into Google Sheets, and arrived in LibreOffice Calc in version 24.8. TEXTJOIN needs Excel 2019 or later. In many European languages, and often in LibreOffice, arguments are separated by semicolons instead of commas. This practice grid accepts both, so =SUM(A1;A2) works as well as =SUM(A1,A2).
Who it’s for
- Job seekers. “Proficient in Excel” is on half the job ads and many CVs. If yours says it, make it true before the skills test.
- New starters. You got the job and your first week involves a spreadsheet you don’t understand. Work through the lookups lesson tonight.
- Students. Coursework in Google Sheets or Excel, without sitting through a lecture recording.
- Anyone running a household budget. Abonvero exists to show the real cost of subscriptions. A spreadsheet you can actually drive is the best tool for that.
Common questions
Do I need Excel installed?
No. The practice grid runs in your browser and calculates formulas itself. You can use what you learn in Excel, Google Sheets (free with a Google account) or LibreOffice Calc (free to download).
Is it really free?
The first 6 lessons are free, with no account and no time limit. The rest are Pro lessons. Prices and billing terms are shown before you pay.
Where is my progress stored?
Your formula entries, points and streaks stay on this device. When you’re signed in to My Learning, spreadsheet lessons you finish are saved to your account so they can show as completed on another device.
What about Word, Google Docs and PowerPoint?
Documents and presentations are next, in the same hands-on style, for Microsoft Office, Google Workspace and LibreOffice. See all courses.
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