Excel Shortcuts For Accountants: All You Need to Know

Excel is one of the most powerful tools for Accountants. They use Excel to perform various financial tasks, create reports and make predictions. But often, Accountants spend a lot of time by manually inputting Data which is highly a time-consuming. Thus, the question is, how can Accountants find ways to perform task quickly without any costly errors? Excel Shortcuts are the saviours. Excel Shortcuts for Accountants make work more productive and streamline daily workflows. To learn the best Excel Shortcuts for Accountants, read this blog. 

Table of contents 

1) Essential Shortcuts for Accountants 

   a) Adding and deleting rows 

   b) Locking cell references 

   c) Effortlessly switching tabs 

   d) Choosing rows or columns 

   e) Adding totals to rows or columns 

   f) Jump to cell references in formulas 

   g) Quick formatting tips 

   h) Efficient data entry and editing tricks  

    i) Using PivotTables and PivotCharts 

    j) Conditional formatting   

2) Conclusion 

Essential Shortcuts for Accountants 

There are several Excel Shortcuts for Accountants out there that you might not be aware of. Some help to navigate spreadsheets, create formulas, and analyse cell references. So, let’s find out some of these Shortcuts to help Accountants excel:

Adding and deleting rows 

You can add and delete rows in Excel with simple Shortcut keys. After selecting rows and columns, use these Shortcuts: 

a) Add: CTRL + “+” (plus key) or CTRL + SHIFT + “+” (plus key): To add rows or columns, hold down the CTRL key and press the “+” key. 

b) Delete: CTRL + “–” (minus key) to delete rows or columns. Hold down the CTRL key and then press the “-” key.

Locking cell references   

Locking cells helps to maintain the original cell reference. It is mainly used while working with lot of formulas. If you want cell reference to remain locked while copying and pasting a formula, add Dollar Sign ($) before the rows and columns. Manually adding the Dollar Sign might take some time. Hence, press F4 while typing a cell reference in a formula. This will insert $ symbols, resulting in locking the cell reference. 

Effortlessly switching tabs 

This Shortcut is useful when working on a spreadsheet with multiple tabs. Rather than using the mouse from one tab to another, use the below-mentioned Shortcuts: 

a) Press and hold the CTRL key. Then, press the PAGE UP key to shift one sheet to the left, i.e. CTRL + PgUp. 

b) Press and hold the CTRL key and the PAGE DOWN key to shift one sheet to the right, i.e. CTRL + PgDn. 

Choosing rows or columns   

This option is more convenient and efficient. It does not require mouse to choose rows and columns. Use the below-mentioned Shortcuts: 

a) SHIFT + SPACEBAR: Hold and press the SHIFT key and the spacebar to select the row. To select multiple rows, hold the SHIFT key and use the up or down arrows to select the desired row(s). 

b) CTRL + SPACEBAR: Hold and press the CTRL key and the spacebar to select the columns. To select multiple rows of columns, hold the SHIFT key and then use the right or left arrows to select the column(s). 

Adding totals to rows or columns 

You can save your time by not writing =SUM formula to sum up the cells. Instead, you can use ALT + “=” (equal key). To use this Excel Shortcut, Accountants can press Hold the ALT key, press the equal sign key, and then press Enter to complete an automatically inserted Sum formula. 

Jump to cell references in formulas   

This Shortcut is used when you are looking at a complicated formula or working on a sheet someone else worked. Instead of manually searching for the cell, use a Shortcut for it. The following are the Shortcuts you can use to jump to cell references: 

a) CTRL + “[“:  Select the cell with the formula you are working on. Hold the CTRL key and then press the “[” key to go to the first cell being referenced in the formula. 

b) F5 + ENTER: After jumping to the referenced cell, you can go back to the original cell that has the formula by pressing the F5 key, then hit ENTER. 

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Quick formatting tips  

Formatting is essential for showing financial data. There are some Excel Shortcuts for Accountants to use when formatting worksheets. Let's find out:

a) Apply common cell formats: Use CTRL + SHIFT + ~ for the general format, CTRL + SHIFT + ! for the number format, and CTRL + SHIFT + $ for the currency format (Indian Rupees). 

b) Align text and numbers: To make your text align to the left and right, use CTRL + L, and CTRL + R. For making it centre alignment, use CTRL + E. 

c) Apply borders and shading: To apply an outline border, Use CTRL + SHIFT + &. To remove the border, use CTRL + SHIFT + _. If you want to add shade, use ALT + H + H and choose the desired colour. 

Efficient data entry and editing tricks 

Accountants can often use Shortcuts to enter and edit data rapidly. These shortcuts are as follows: 

a) Copy and paste: To copy and paste, use CTRL + C and CTRL + V.  To paste special options, use CTRL + ALT + V. 

b) Undo and redo actions: To undo and redo the last action, use CTRL + Z and CTRL + Y. 

c) Clear and delete data: To clear the cell, press Delete. To delete a row or column, press CTRL + - after selecting. 

Using PivotTables and PivotCharts 

PivotTable is used to summarise, analyse, and present summary data. At the same time, PivotCharts complement PivotTables by inserting visualisations into the summary data. Here are the Shortcuts: 

a) PivotTable: Select the data range and use ALT + N + V to add a PivotTable. 

b) PivotChart: After creating a PivotTable, use ALT + N + Z to insert a PivotChart.  

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Conditional formatting 

Conditional Formatting makes the data visually appealing by highlighting values with colour. To apply conditional formatting, select the range and hit ALT + H + L to open the menu. 

Sorting and filtering data 

Sorting and filtering allow you to better analyse your data. It displays only rows that meet the criteria and hides that you do not want to display. To use this feature, follow these Excel Shortcuts: 

a) Filters: Select a cell in your data range and Ctrl + Shift + L to add filters. 

b) Sort: Press ALT + A + S + A or an ascending sort and Alt + A + S + D for a descending sort. 

Crafting and applying templates 

It is a pre-built spreadsheet or workbook that is already formatted and organised. Here are the Shortcuts for crafting and applying templates: 

a) Save workbook as a template: Choose File > Save As > Browse and select Excel Template (*.xltx) as the file type. 

b) Use custom template: choose File > New > Personal and select the preferred template. 

Using and recording Macros 

It is a process where Excel records every task and action that can be run many times. To Save Accountants valuable time, they can follow these Shortcuts: 

a) Record Macro: Use ALT + F11 to open the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) editor. Choose the record macro to perform the actions, and then click Stop Recording.  

b) Run Macro: Use Alt + F8 to open the dialogue box. Select the macro, and then click Run. 

Conclusion  

We hope this blog made you aware of the top Excel Shortcuts for Accountants. By incorporating these keyboards Excel Shortcuts, Accountants can notably improve accuracy and the quality of the reports. We hope by using these Shortcuts you become a master in MS Excel. 

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