Excel Skills Every East African Small Business Needs

1. Getting started

Create simple sheets for daily sales, expenses, inventory and outstanding customer payments. Keep a consistent date format and one transaction per row.

2. Planning and preparation

Use SUM for totals, IF for conditions, COUNTIF for counting categories and SUMIF for grouped expenses. Make reusable sheets so your records remain consistent each month.

3. Putting it into practice

Create a separate summary sheet for revenue, direct costs and operating expenses. Compare actual spending with your budget.

4. Key considerations

Protect sensitive customer details, keep backups and avoid sharing spreadsheets publicly.