Getting Started

  1. 1

    Create a new spreadsheet

    Go to sheets.google.com (sign in with a Google account). Click the + Blank button to create a new spreadsheet. Your work saves automatically to Google Drive every few seconds — no manual saving needed.

  2. 2

    Navigate and enter data

    Click any cell to select it. Type to enter data. Press Enter to move down, Tab to move right. Each cell has an address — column letter + row number (e.g. B3 is column B, row 3). The column and row headers highlight to show your current cell.

Essential Formulas

  1. 3

    Start every formula with =

    Click a cell where you want the result. Type = then your formula. Press Enter to calculate.

  2. 4

    The most useful formulas

    =SUM(A1:A10) — adds all values from A1 to A10. =AVERAGE(B1:B10) — calculates the average. =COUNT(C1:C20) — counts cells with numbers. =MAX(D1:D10) and =MIN(D1:D10) — find the highest and lowest values. =IF(A1>100,"Yes","No") — returns Yes if A1 is over 100, No if not.

  3. 5

    Reference cells in formulas

    Rather than typing numbers, reference cells: =A1+B1 adds the values in cells A1 and B1. If you change the values in those cells, the formula result updates automatically. This is the power of spreadsheets.

Formatting

  1. 6

    Format numbers, dates and currency

    Select cells → click Format → Number → choose Currency, Percentage, Date or other formats. Or use the toolbar shortcuts: the $ button formats as currency, the % button as percentage.

  2. 7

    Freeze rows and columns

    To keep headers visible while scrolling: click the row number or column letter you want to freeze → View → Freeze → select rows or columns to freeze. The frozen rows stay at the top as you scroll down through data.

Sharing and Collaboration

Click the Share button (top right) → enter email addresses → choose Viewer, Commenter or Editor access → Send. Multiple people can edit the same sheet simultaneously — changes appear in real time. Use File → Download to export as Excel (.xlsx) or PDF if someone needs it in a different format.

Keyboard shortcutsCtrl+Z: undo. Ctrl+C/V: copy/paste. Ctrl+Shift+V: paste values only (without formatting). Ctrl+Home: jump to cell A1. Ctrl+End: jump to the last cell with data. Ctrl+F: find. These work on Windows; replace Ctrl with Cmd on Mac.

Frequently Asked Questions

Google Sheets is free, cloud-based and excellent for collaboration — multiple people can edit simultaneously and everything saves automatically. Excel is more powerful for complex data analysis, has more advanced features and works offline, but requires a Microsoft 365 subscription. For most everyday tasks (budgets, lists, simple data), Google Sheets is sufficient and more convenient.
Yes — drag an Excel file (.xlsx or .xls) into Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. Most formatting and formulas transfer correctly. Complex Excel features (some macros, advanced pivot tables) may not work perfectly. You can also edit the file in Excel format without converting it.