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Beginner Excel · Data analysis · Visualization

Excel Essentials and Beyond

Six modules that start at the Ribbon and finish at a working dashboard - formulas, advanced lookups, Pivot Tables, Power Query, Power Pivot, DAX, Office Scripts and Copilot in Excel, every step demonstrated on screen and then graded.

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4 weeks at 10 hrs/week 6 modules · 142 lessons Beginner level English · 11 languages available
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Board Infinity287 courses · 479,274 learners on Coursera
Loading video… Introduction to the course · 2:53

Every feature on screen

142 short lessons, each one demonstrated inside Excel

Certificate included

Shareable on LinkedIn the day you finish

Graded, not just watched

29 assignments across the six modules

6 Lakh+learners on our Coursera courses
10+domains covered
270+courses
57+specializations
01 About the course

One course that goes all the way to dashboards.

Most Excel courses stop at VLOOKUP. This one keeps going - through Pivot Tables and charts into Power Query, Power Pivot, DAX, Office Scripts and Copilot.

6
Modules
Ribbon to dashboards
142
Video lessons
Most under 10 minutes
29
Assignments
Practice and graded quizzes
4 wks
At 10 hours a week
Self-paced, flexible deadlines

Excel Essentials and Beyond is a comprehensive exploration of Excel, the world's leading spreadsheet tool - built for newcomers to Excel and for those aiming for mastery.

It begins with Excel's interface and foundational features - data types, formatting, cell references, sorting and filtering. Then it moves into data manipulation: conditional logic, date-time functions and Excel's dynamic lookup functions, from VLOOKUP and INDEX/MATCH to XLOOKUP and FILTER.

Visualization takes centre stage in the later modules: Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts and advanced charts, then Power Query, Power Pivot and DAX, ending with a dashboard creation project that turns raw data into decisions.

Inside the course
01Excel Proficiency Essentials≈ 7h 02Excel Data Analysis and Visualization≈ 6h 03Advanced Functions and Temporal Functions≈ 6h 04Data Manipulation and Advanced Lookups≈ 6h 05Analysis, Visualization and Presentation≈ 5h 06Advanced Visualization and Dashboards≈ 6h
02 Who it's for

For anyone whose work already lives in a spreadsheet.

No prerequisites - basic familiarity with a spreadsheet helps, but the course starts with the fundamentals.

Beginners

Complete beginners

Module one opens at what Excel is, the Ribbon, worksheets and data types - nothing is assumed.

Everyday users

Spreadsheet users

You can type a SUM and sort a column. Conditional logic, XLOOKUP and Power Query sit on the other side.

Students

Students & job seekers

Internships and first jobs assume you can clean a dataset, summarise it and present it.

Reporting

Reporting & business roles

Move from static weekly numbers to Pivot Charts, slicers and a dashboard that updates itself.

03 What you'll learn

Four capabilities, in the order they build.

These are the four learning outcomes Coursera lists for the course - each one the product of whole modules, not a single lesson.

Modules 1-2

Navigate Excel with confidence

Essential tools and techniques for organising and presenting data - formatting, references, sorting, filtering and validation.

Modules 3-4

Use advanced functions and lookups

Date-time manipulation and lookup techniques for in-depth analysis - from COUNTIFS and NETWORKDAYS to XLOOKUP and LAMBDA.

Modules 5-6

Master Pivot Tables and charting

Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts, slicers and advanced charts - combo, waterfall, funnel, Pareto, scatter and heat maps.

Module 6

Design dynamic dashboards

Data cleaned in Power Query, modelled in Power Pivot, measured in DAX and assembled into a dashboard people actually use.

1:1 coaching · optional add-on

Learn Excel with someone in your corner.

A dedicated coach who works with data for a living - someone who can tell you why a formula keeps returning #N/A, and whether your dashboard answers the question.

Book a demo session
  • A coach matched to your goal in 24 hours
  • A written roadmap you keep
  • Weekly sessions for as long as you want them

60-minute demo session · 100% refundable · no obligation to continue

Get unstuck in minutes

The lookup that keeps failing or the Pivot Table that won't group, explained.

Your workbook reviewed

Not just whether the numbers add up - whether the structure survives next month's data.

Practice beyond the quizzes

Datasets set for you and reviewed, so formulas turn into fluency.

Aim it at your work

Which reports to rebuild first, and what to learn after Excel - Power BI, SQL or analytics.

2,000+Industry coaches
16Domains covered
4.8/5Average coach rating
48,000+Sessions delivered
04 Syllabus

Six modules, from the Ribbon to a live dashboard.

Coursera lists this course at 4 weeks of study at 10 hours a week, fully self-paced. Every module lists its learning objectives, its content, and what you'll walk out with.

142 videos 24 readings 29 assignments 4 weeks at 10 hrs/week
Learning objectives - by the end of this module you can:
  • Find your way around the Ribbon, worksheets, workbooks and data types
  • Format cells, numbers, fonts, alignment and borders, and use Format Painter
  • Use relative, absolute and mixed cell references correctly
  • Sort, filter and reshape data with Flash Fill and Text to Columns
What's inside
20 videos131 min
5 readings130 min
5 assignments + 1 discussion prompt + 1 plugin145 min
Topics covered
The Ribbon Worksheets & workbooks Format Cells & Format Painter Relative, absolute & mixed references Flash Fill Sorting, filtering & Text to Columns
You'll leave with: a solid Excel foundation - clean, well-formatted sheets and formulas that reference the right cells.
Learning objectives - by the end of this module you can:
  • Clean data with Remove Duplicates and Data Validation
  • Highlight patterns with conditional formatting, including formula rules
  • Calculate with SUM, MIN, MAX, COUNT, COUNTA and AVERAGE
  • Build logic with IF, IFS, nested IF, IFERROR, SUMIF(S) and SWITCH
What's inside
22 videos106 min
4 readings120 min
5 assignments120 min
Topics covered
Remove Duplicates Data Validation Conditional formatting SUM, MIN, MAX, COUNT & AVERAGE IF, IFS & nested IF IFERROR, SUMIFS & SWITCH
You'll leave with: the formulas and conditional logic behind most day-to-day analysis in Excel.
Learning objectives - by the end of this module you can:
  • Summarise data with COUNTIF(S) and AVERAGEIF(S)
  • Work with dates using DATE, TODAY, NOW, EOMONTH, DATEDIF and EDATE
  • Calculate schedules with WORKDAY and NETWORKDAYS, including .INTL
  • Split text with TEXTSPLIT, TEXTBEFORE and TEXTAFTER, and write LET and LAMBDA
What's inside
24 videos101 min
4 readings120 min
5 assignments + 1 discussion prompt130 min
Topics covered
COUNTIFS & AVERAGEIFS Date & time functions EOMONTH, DATEDIF & EDATE WORKDAY & NETWORKDAYS TEXTSPLIT, TEXTBEFORE & TEXTAFTER LET & LAMBDA
You'll leave with: the advanced and date-time functions for scheduling, time-based analysis and reusable formulas.
Learning objectives - by the end of this module you can:
  • Retrieve data with VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP and INDEX with MATCH
  • Handle two-way, left, case-sensitive and closest-match lookups
  • Clean text with CONCATENATE, LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM, REPLACE and LEN
  • Use XLOOKUP, UNIQUE, SORT, SORTBY and FILTER for dynamic results
What's inside
28 videos135 min
4 readings120 min
5 assignments120 min
Topics covered
VLOOKUP & HLOOKUP INDEX & MATCH Two-way & left lookups Text functions XLOOKUP UNIQUE, SORT & FILTER
You'll leave with: the lookup and text skills to pull, match and clean data across any workbook.
Learning objectives - by the end of this module you can:
  • Analyse data with FIND, ROUND and SUBTOTAL
  • Build, sort, filter and summarise Pivot Tables, and add slicers
  • Create charts and control layout, legends and data labels
  • Use Pivot Charts, combo, waterfall and funnel charts, scatterplots and heat maps
What's inside
22 videos87 min
4 readings120 min
5 assignments120 min
Topics covered
FIND, ROUND & SUBTOTAL Pivot Tables Slicers Charts, legends & data labels Pivot Charts Combo, waterfall & funnel charts
You'll leave with: Pivot Tables and charts that summarise a dataset and present it clearly.
Learning objectives - by the end of this module you can:
  • Build histograms, maps, dual-axis, bump, control, Pareto and waterfall charts
  • Design and build an interactive dashboard in Excel
  • Clean and model data with Power Query, Power Pivot, relationships and DAX
  • Automate with Office Scripts, use Copilot for insights, and run What-If Analysis
What's inside
26 videos176 min
3 readings90 min
4 assignments, incl. a dashboard creation project105 min
Topics covered
Specialized charts Dashboarding in Excel Power Query Power Pivot & DAX measures Office Scripts Copilot & What-If Analysis
You'll build: a working sales dashboard from cleaned, modelled data - the course's closing project.
05 Tools & skills

One application, four ways of working in it.

Everything happens inside Microsoft Excel - these are the parts of it the course covers, and the skills you leave with.

Spreadsheet

Formulas & functions

Formatting, references, conditional logic, date-time functions and lookups - Modules 1 to 4.

Analysis

Pivot Tables & charts

Pivot Tables, slicers, Pivot Charts and modern chart types for summarising data - Module 5.

Data model

Power Query & Power Pivot

Cleanup, unpivot and merge; relationships, star schema and DAX measures - Module 6.

Present

Dashboards & Copilot

Interactive dashboards, Office Scripts automation and Copilot-assisted insights - Module 6.

Skills you leave with

Twelve skills from the course, grouped the way spreadsheet work actually splits - getting the data right, analysing it, and showing it.

Spreadsheet foundations

Clean, well-structured data that formulas can trust.

  • Spreadsheet software
  • Excel formulas
  • Data management
  • Data cleansing

Analysis

Getting from a sheet of numbers to an answer.

  • Data analysis
  • Pivot tables and charts
  • Lookup functions
  • Data-driven decision-making

Visualization

Turning the answer into something people act on.

  • Data visualization
  • Data visualization software
  • Dashboards
  • Data storytelling
Certificate

Proof you can link to.

Finish the graded work and Board Infinity issues a shareable certificate through Coursera - add it to your LinkedIn profile, resume or CV.

Issued on completion of the graded quizzes in all six modules and the dashboard creation project.

On your profile in one click

Filed under Licenses & Certifications, where recruiters actually look.

Share it anywhere

On social media and in your next performance review.

Earned, not attended

Awarded on graded quizzes and a dashboard project - it certifies what you can do.

Two names on it

Board Infinity as the provider, Coursera as the platform.

06 Career impact

Almost every office job asks the same thing: can you work with the numbers?

These are the roles that lean on exactly this skill set.

Where these skills are in demand

Data Analyst

Cleaning, analysing and visualising data - Excel is usually the first tool on the job.

Business Analyst

Turning operational data into recommendations, often through Pivot Tables and dashboards.

MIS Executive

Building and maintaining the regular reports a business runs on.

Financial Analyst

Budgets, forecasts and variance analysis, built and checked in spreadsheets.

Operations Analyst

Tracking schedules, workdays and throughput with date and lookup functions.

Reporting Analyst

Dashboards and Pivot Charts that update as the data does.

Sales & Marketing Analyst

Pipeline, campaign and revenue numbers summarised for decisions.

Operations & Project Manager

Using Excel to plan, track and report - and to decide, not just record.

The honest comparison

What you're actually paying for

Every topic in this course exists free somewhere on the internet. Nobody is pretending otherwise. What a course adds is the order you learn it in, the practice that makes it stick, and something to show at the end.

What you get
This course
DIY with free content
A deliberate orderRibbon → formulas → lookups → dashboards
Six modules, each building on the last
Random tips in random order
Practice with feedbackLearning that sticks
29 practice and graded quizzes
Nobody checks your work
Beyond the basicsModern Excel
XLOOKUP, Power Query, DAX and Copilot
Tutorials that stop at VLOOKUP
A finished projectSomething to show
A dashboard creation project
Half-finished practice files
Proof for recruitersShareable, on LinkedIn
Shareable Coursera certificate
Nothing to show
07 Where to go next

Where to go after Excel.

This course stands on its own. When you finish, these Board Infinity courses on Coursera take the same data skills into BI and visualization tools.

Next: Power BI

Master Data Transformation at Scale with Power BI Desktop

Take the Power Query skills from Module 6 into Power BI's Query Editor.

≈ 4 hours · Intermediate
View course
Next: Tableau

Data Visualization with Tableau

A beginner-friendly course on building visual stories and dashboards in Tableau.

≈ 2 weeks · Beginner
View course
Specialization

Analytics with Tableau, Power BI and SQL Dashboards

Business intelligence end to end - interactive dashboards, data transformation and SQL.

≈ 12 weeks · Beginner
View specialization
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Know exactly what you're signing up for.

6 modules · 142 lessons · 29 assignments · free PDF

08 FAQ

Common questions

Everything learners ask before enrolling, answered plainly.

About the course

It's a comprehensive journey into Excel, taking you from foundational skills to advanced techniques. You'll learn to efficiently analyze, visualize and present data using Excel's vast capabilities.

Beginners looking to get started with Excel, as well as intermediate users who want to enhance their proficiency and explore advanced Excel functionality.

Basic familiarity with spreadsheets can be helpful, but it's not mandatory. The course starts with foundational concepts, making it accessible to all.

A range of skills from navigating Excel to data manipulation, conditional logic, date-time and lookup functions, Pivot Tables, charts and dynamic dashboards - including Power Query, Power Pivot, DAX, Office Scripts and Copilot in the final module.

Coursera lists it at about 4 weeks at 10 hours a week, across 6 modules. The actual time depends on your pace - it's fully self-paced, so you can spread it out around work or study.

Absolutely. The course is designed for self-paced learning, so you can progress through the material at a pace that suits your needs and schedule.

Career & certificate

Access to all course materials, including graded assignments. When you complete the course, your electronic certificate is added to your Coursera Accomplishments page, where you can print it or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Roles like Data Analyst, Business Analyst, MIS Executive, Financial Analyst and Reporting Analyst - and almost any office role where reports, budgets or tracking live in a spreadsheet.

To access course materials and assignments and earn a certificate, you purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll. Eligible learners may be able to start with a free trial, and some may see a Full Course, No Certificate option.

Yes. In select learning programs you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can't afford the enrollment fee. If it's available, you'll find a link to apply on the Coursera course page.

Want someone checking your formulas with you?

Board Infinity 1:1 coaching pairs you with a practitioner while you take the course.

See 1:1 coaching

Your first dashboard is six modules away.

142 lessons. 29 assignments. A working dashboard you built yourself - and a certificate to show for it.

Enroll on Coursera

Excel Essentials and Beyond · by Board Infinity · offered on Coursera

Excel Essentials and Beyond Enroll