What is the main benefit of a Professional Certificate?

Whether you’re looking to start a new career or change your current one, Professional Certificates help you become job ready. Apply your new skills on hands-on projects that showcase your expertise to potential employers and earn a career credential to kickstart your new career.

What does a Power BI analyst do?

Power BI Data Analysts design, develop, and deploy business analytics dashboards using Microsoft Power BI. Data analysts are essential in helping organizations gain valuable insights into the expanse of data that they have, and they work closely with others in the organization to help reveal valuable information.

What jobs can I get with Power BI data analytics skills?

<text variant="body1">Prepare for a career as a data analyst using Power BI. The Power BI skills you learn in this program prepare you for an entry-level role as a data analyst. An entry-level role as a data analyst is a great starting point and can be the first step towards building a career as a business intelligence analyst, data scientist or data engineer.

Will I be able to complete this course online?

This course is completely online. You can access your lessons, readings, and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.

What will I get if I subscribe to this Certificate?

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Certificate, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Preparing Data for Analysis with Microsoft Excel

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Preparing Data for Analysis with Microsoft Excel

This course is part of Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate

Instructor: Microsoft

583,084 already enrolled

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4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

5,678 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

96%

Most learners liked this course

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

5,678 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

96%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

NEW [optional] introduction to Generative AI

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

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Assessments

21 assignments¹

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Taught in English

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Build your Data Analysis expertise

This course is part of the Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Professional Certificate.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate from Microsoft

There are 4 modules in this course

This course forms part of the Microsoft Power BI Analyst Professional Certificate. This Professional Certificate consists of a series of courses that offers a good starting point for a career in data analysis using Microsoft Power BI.

No prior skills are needed to be successful in this course. In this course, you’ll learn how to make use of Excel in business scenarios for data analysis. You’ll also learn how to utilize formulas and functions for data analysis.  Specifically, this course will help you gain knowledge and skills for preparing data for analysis using Microsoft Excel and take you one step closer to becoming a Microsoft Power BI Analyst.  After completing this course, you’ll be able to:  • Create data in Microsoft Excel and prepare it for data analysis.  • Make use of common formulas and functions in a worksheet.  • Prepare Excel data for analysis in Power BI using functions.

In the first module, you’ll focus on Excel fundamentals. In the opening lesson, you’ll receive advice on how to succeed in this course, meet your peers, and review some useful resources available to help you in your learning journey. Lesson two focuses on creating workbook content. It introduces the Excel software and essential Excel elements and techniques. These techniques include entering and formatting data and managing and adding data to worksheets. In the third lesson, you’ll learn how to work with blocks of data in Excel. You’ll begin by learning how to read large data blocks, then review the steps for sorting and filtering data in Excel. Both lessons two and three will put your new skills to the test with Excel-based exercises.

What's included

12 videos14 readings7 assignments

12 videosTotal 72 minutes

Introduction to the program6 minutes
Course introduction: Preparing data for analysis with Microsoft Excel3 minutes
Day in the life4 minutes
Welcome to Generative AI for everyone6 minutes
Understanding the Capabilities of Generative AI for Business Functions9 minutes
Generative AI - Under the hood8 minutes
The potential pitfalls and shortcomings of GenAI6 minutes
Introduction to Microsoft Excel7 minutes
Entering and formatting data6 minutes
Reading large data blocks7 minutes
Sorting and filtering data in Excel7 minutes
Module summary: Excel fundamentals4 minutes

14 readingsTotal 132 minutes

How to be successful in this course10 minutes
Skills measured in the Microsoft Exam PL30010 minutes
How to open an image in a new tab4 minutes
How to locate your downloaded files3 minutes
Additional resources: Key concepts5 minutes
Generative AI Terminology10 minutes
Generative AI in Business10 minutes
Regional variations in Excel10 minutes
Working with rows and columns10 minutes
Working with worksheets10 minutes
Additional resources: Creating workbook content5 minutes
Exercise: Filtering data30 minutes
Exemplar: Filtering data10 minutes
Additional resources: Working with blocks of data in Excel5 minutes

7 assignmentsTotal 135 minutes

Exercise: Adding data to a worksheet30 minutes
Module quiz: Excel fundamentals30 minutes
General Knowledge Quiz10 minutes
Knowledge check: Creating workbook content10 minutes
Exercise: Sorting Data30 minutes
Self-review: Filtering data10 minutes
Knowledge check: Working with blocks of data in Excel15 minutes

In the second module, you’ll explore formulas and functions and their importance to data analysis. You’ll begin the module with a lesson on using formulas in Excel to perform calculations. You’ll learn what the concept of a formula is, discover the syntax for different types of calculations, and complete a calculation-based exercise. In the next lesson, you’ll learn how to use common formulas and functions in a worksheet. Both of this week’s lessons also end with exercises that test your new skills.

What's included

6 videos9 readings5 assignments1 discussion prompt

6 videosTotal 38 minutes

What is a formula?6 minutes
Controlling calculations6 minutes
Controlling calculations in action6 minutes
What is a function formula and how to write it7 minutes
Using the INSERT function6 minutes
Module summary: Formulas and functions7 minutes

9 readingsTotal 120 minutes

Order of precedence in calculations10 minutes
Useful percentage calculations10 minutes
Exercise: Calculating profit and margin30 minutes
Exemplar: Calculating profit and margin10 minutes
Additional resources: Formulas in Excel5 minutes
The AutoSum shortcut10 minutes
Exercise: Preparing a monthly sales report30 minutes
Exemplar: Preparing a monthly sales report10 minutes
Additional resources: Getting started with functions5 minutes

5 assignmentsTotal 80 minutes

Module quiz: Formulas and functions30 minutes
Self-Review: Calculating profit and margin10 minutes
Knowledge check: Formulas in Excel15 minutes
Self-Review: Preparing a monthly sales report10 minutes
Knowledge check: Getting started with functions15 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

What features were new to you and which were most useful?10 minutes

In the third module, you’ll learn how to prepare data for analysis using functions. You’ll begin with a lesson on using functions to clean or standardize text to prepare text data for effective analysis. You’ll then explore the use of date and time functions in Excel so that you can complete actions like creating timeline information in a spreadsheet. In the final lesson of this week, you’ll review the use of logical functions like IF and IFS. And you’ll learn how to use these logical functions to generate content like data columns. Each lesson concludes with an exercise where you'll practice your new skills by completing assigned tasks in Excel.

What's included

6 videos13 readings7 assignments1 discussion prompt

6 videosTotal 40 minutes

How inconsistent data can affect data analysis6 minutes
Why understanding date calculations is important6 minutes
Dynamic date and time entries6 minutes
Using the IF function8 minutes
Using nested IF and IFS function8 minutes
Module summary: Preparing Data for Analysis Using Functions7 minutes

13 readingsTotal 175 minutes

Functions which can be used to standardize text data10 minutes
Exercise: Standardizing text-based data30 minutes
Exemplar: Standardising text-based data10 minutes
Additional resources: Using functions to clean or standardize text5 minutes
Other useful date calculations10 minutes
Exercise: Calculating the number of working days remaining in the year30 minutes
Exemplar: Calculating the number of working days remaining in the year10 minutes
Additional resources: Date and time functions5 minutes
AND and OR functions10 minutes
IF functions10 minutes
Exercise: Adding a data column using the IFS function30 minutes
Exemplar: Adding a data column using the IFS function10 minutes
Additional resources: Logical functions5 minutes

7 assignmentsTotal 105 minutes

Module quiz: Formulas and functions30 minutes
Self-review: Standardizing text-based data10 minutes
Knowledge check: Using functions to clean or standardize text15 minutes
Self-review: Calculating the number of working days remaining in the year10 minutes
Knowledge check: Date and time functions15 minutes
Self-Review: Adding a data column using the IFS function10 minutes
Knowledge check: Logical functions15 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

What features were new to you and which were most useful10 minutes

In the fourth week, you’ll undertake an assessment of the key skills that you covered in the course. You’ll begin with a course recap in which you’ll review the important lessons you learned. You’ll also be able to apply the knowledge you've gained in the previous weeks by completing a scenario-based project. You’ll then undertake the course quiz, which tests your knowledge of the concepts and techniques you've explored. You’ll complete the course by reflecting on what you’ve learned with your peers in a discussion. Finally, you’ll explore the next steps in this Professional Certificate.

What's included

2 videos4 readings2 assignments1 discussion prompt

2 videosTotal 10 minutes

Course recap: Preparing data for analysis with Microsoft Excel7 minutes
Congratulations4 minutes

4 readingsTotal 60 minutes

About the final project and assessment: Preparing data for analysis with Microsoft Excel10 minutes
Final course project: Creating an executive data summary30 minutes
Exemplar: Creating an executive data summary10 minutes
Next steps10 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 105 minutes

Self-review: Creating an executive data summary15 minutes
Course quiz: Preparing data for analysis with MS Excel90 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Reflect on learning10 minutes

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Instructor

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(1,558 ratings)

Microsoft

420 Courses2,807,658 learners

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Showing 3 of 5678

Reviewed on Aug 28, 2025

Gave an overall understanding on excel which helped me a lot. I now feel more confident using functions, formulas, and tools like filters, conditional formatting, and charts.

Reviewed on Sep 10, 2025

It was great helping me become more efficient in Excel. I am a basic user but now I feel confident leveraging the advanced Excel tools. I am super excited to learn more about Power BI

Reviewed on Feb 8, 2026

Muy práctico y fácil de digerir, no te quedes con lo que ya sabes, ten la mente abierta para que aprendas nuevas formas de hacer las cosas de una forma rápida y práctica, optimizando tiempo.

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Frequently asked questions

This program is for you:

● If you want to switch or start a career in the field of data analytics.

● If you are interested in the field of data analytics, just beginning to work with business intelligence and data analysis solutions and services, or new to Microsoft Power BI.

You don’t need any background knowledge to take this Professional Certificate. Whether you’re just starting out or a professional in a relevant field, this program can be the right fit for you.

It typically takes 5 months to complete the 8 courses. But some learners may go through the content faster.

Once you have completed this Professional Certificate, you’ll have built a foundational knowledge of the key concepts and tools in Power BI and how they apply to a business environment including:

• The ability to implement best practices when conducting Data Analysis.

• The skills to use the visualization and report capabilities of Power BI to create compelling reports and dashboards.

• The ability to provide valuable data insights that help to inform business decisions.

Data analysts and business intelligence analysts both help drive data-driven decision-making in their organizations. Data analysts tend to work more closely with the data itself, while business intelligence analysts tend to be more involved in using the results of data analysis to address business needs and recommend solutions.The Power BI data analyst is a combination of both of these roles. They work closely with business stakeholders to identify business requirements and collaborate with enterprise data analysts and data engineers to identify and acquire data. They also transform the data, create data models, visualize data, and share assets by using Power BI. These are all highly sort after roles.

We highly recommend taking the courses of each certificate program in the order they are presented. The content in the courses builds on information from earlier courses. The final course contains a practice exam that assesses your knowledge of the content covered in the previous courses. As such, it makes the most sense to take the courses in the order they are presented.

To access course materials, assignments, and earn a Certificate, you'll need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. Eligible learners may also have the option to start with a Free Trial. Some courses may also offer a Full Course, No Certificate option. This lets you access course materials, submit required assessments, and receive a final grade, but you won't be able to earn or purchase a Certificate.