Tips & tricks For Microsoft Excel, Power BI, SQL and more

Microsoft Copilot can boost productivity in M365 apps, but access often fails due to connectivity, outdated software, or misaligned settings. Start with basics - verify internet, update apps/Copilot, and reboot - then tackle advanced fixes like confirming licenses, moving to supported update channels, adjusting admin/privacy policies, or repairing Office. For reliability, keep Windows and M365 updated, maintain a stable connection, monitor the Service Health dashboard, follow IT policy, and clear caches regularly.

A radar chart in Excel displays multiple variables on radial axes to compare them at a glance, forming a polygon that highlights patterns and differences. The article explains key benefits and business uses - like evaluating suppliers, employees, products, and campaigns - because the charts are compact, clear, and visually engaging. It then walks through creating one in Excel (select data → Insert → Radar → customise) and shares best practices: limit variables, label clearly, and use consistent scaling.

In this article, we look at how compound annual growth rate (CAGR) as the “average speed” at which an investment or business metric grows over time, smoothing out year-to-year volatility. It walks through the manual CAGR formula— (Ending Value / Beginning Value)^(1/Years) − 1 —then demonstrates four Excel-based methods to automate the calculation: the direct formula, RRI, POWER, and RATE functions.

Build a simple Excel calculator to forecast investment growth with compound interest.

Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google’s Gemini are leading AI assistants, each excelling in different environments. Copilot integrates deeply with Microsoft 365 to automate documents, data analysis, and email, while ChatGPT shines in open-ended conversation, creative writing, and flexible plugin-driven workflows. Gemini prioritises speed and factual accuracy within Google Workspace, offering powerful research and summarisation capabilities. Choosing the right tool depends on your ecosystem, need for customisation, and whether productivity, creativity, or precision is the top priority.

This quick guide helps teams choose the right IT course with confidence. It highlights the top 10 evaluation criteria - covering accreditation, instructor quality, curriculum freshness, hands-on labs, credentials, outcomes, flexibility, support, community, and level fit - and includes a printable side-by-side comparison checklist. Use it to align training with real-world tools and career ROI.

This blog explains how Excel’s LOOKUP functions—particularly XLOOKUP and VLOOKUP—can retrieve data based on multiple criteria. It walks through a step-by-step example of finding an employee’s sales in a specific region, showing both an XLOOKUP formula and a VLOOKUP alternative that uses a helper column.

In this guide, we explain variance as a measure of how widely data points deviate from the mean and shows why understanding this spread is useful for deeper insight and risk assessment. It walks readers through calculating variance in Excel, distinguishing between the VAR.S function for a sample and VAR.P for an entire population, then demonstrates each with a car-sales case study.

The article explains how businesses can quickly calculate value-added tax in Microsoft Excel using the formula =Net*(1+VAT), where the VAT rate is set with an absolute cell reference for accuracy. It walks through setting up columns for net sales, VAT rate, and gross sales; entering the formula; copying it down multiple rows; and double-checking results. Automating VAT this way streamlines invoicing, enhances financial reporting, and minimizes manual errors.