Prepping Data for PivotTables with Tony Phillips

Tony Phillips, an expert in Microsoft Office, has shared his top tips for preparing data before building a PivotTable. To get the most out of this powerful tool, he recommends starting with four essential functions: XLOOKUP, IF, TEXTSPLIT, and TRIM.

Phillips begins by enriching his data using XLOOKUP to bring in relevant information from another table. He uses this function to add columns for product names and categories to his sales table.

Next, he classifies his data with the IF function, which allows him to turn numbers into text categories that are easier to analyze. In his example, he creates an 'OrderType' column that labels orders above $1,000 as 'High Value' and everything else as 'Standard.'

The final two steps involve structuring his data with TEXTSPLIT and cleaning it up with TRIM. The former helps him break down combined information into separate fields, while the latter removes extraneous spaces that could cause problems.