5 useful Excel shortcuts for formating and navigation
Speed up your workflow with these five essential Excel shortcuts for formatting and navigation. Perfect for accounting and AR professionals looking to save time and boost accuracy
Spending more time than necessary in an Excel spreadsheet is the bane of an accountant’s existence. When working on a spreadsheet, we often spend more time playing around with formatting and attempting to get the cells to do what we want than manually inputting data. If you’re in the accounts receivable department, there are probably a thousand different tasks that would be more productive, such as making collection calls, than playing around in a spreadsheet. Below, we have highlighted 5 useful Excel shortcuts for accountants to make formatting and navigation easier.
1. Select the entire table (ctrl + shift + space)
If you want to quickly select certain rows and columns—without including surrounding empty cells—this shortcut can help.
How it works:
• Ctrl + Shift + Space to select the entire table, including only the data-filled cells.
2. Easily navigate through worksheets and workbooks
Nothing’s more frustrating than manually switching between worksheets or workbooks. This wastes time and can lead to errors if data is entered in the wrong sheet or workbook.
How it works:
• To move to the next worksheet: Ctrl + PageUp
• To move to the previous worksheet: Ctrl + PageDown
• To toggle between open workbooks: Alt + Tab
3.Copy and edit formulas quickly
Even trying to copy a formula from one cell and edit it in another can prove to be a difficult task in Excel. Sometimes editing a copied formula takes multiple attempts and the cells can just be stubborn, and then, you are left wondering if the correct formula is even being used, compromising your data. Use this shortcut
How it works:
CTRL+ ‘
Pressing the control key and the apostrophe key will paste the formula in the above cell, below and immediately enter edit mode.
4. Format numbers instantly for accounting tasks
Sometimes, you want to enter a number into an Excel worksheet in a specific format, such as with a certain number of decimal places, as a date or a time. Excel usually does not recognize this formatting automatically, and you have to manually highlight the cells and change the formatting using tools. The following Excel shortcut keys are essential for accounting and can save time when formatting numbers.
When entering numbers in Excel, you may need to format them in specific ways—such as currency or percentage. Manually applying these formats can take time.
How it works:
Here are some essential shortcuts for quickly formatting numbers:
• Ctrl + Shift + 1 for two decimal places
• Ctrl + Shift + 2 for time format
• Ctrl + Shift + 3 for date format
• Ctrl + Shift + 4 for currency format
• Ctrl + Shift + 5 for percentage format
• Ctrl + Shift + 6 for exponential format
5. Detect all cells linked to a formula (ctrl + shift + {)
When working with complex reports, it’s essential to know how the data was calculated—especially if the formulas are linked across multiple cells. This shortcut lets you identify all the cells linked to a formula.
How it works:
- Highlight a cell with a value and press Ctrl + Shift + { to see all cells linked to the formula. This lets you trace the source of the data for transparency and accuracy.
Save time and work more efficiently with these Excel shortcuts
You can save time and streamline your accounting tasks using these Excel shortcuts. These shortcuts help with formatting, navigation, and formula management, making your workflow more efficient. For those looking to further automate and improve your accounting processes, tools like Sage AR Automation can enhance productivity by automating repetitive tasks.
