Your first PivotTable: summarize and reconcile sales

A PivotTable groups records and summarizes a measure. Start with a clean table: one header row, consistent data types, and a clear meaning for each record. In a fictional dataset, East has sales of $20, $20, and $12; West has $24, $15, and $10.

Click inside the Excel table, choose Insert > PivotTable, and confirm the intended source. Put Region in Rows and Sales in Values. Check the aggregation: Sum of Sales should produce East $52 and West $49. Count of Sales would produce three for each region, a row count rather than a sales total.

Reconcile the groups to the overall total: $52 + $49 = $101. Then trace one group back to its records. A correct total does not prove that every order is assigned to the right region, so keep a small known-result test.

When a new $4 East order is added, verify that the source includes it and refresh. The expected results become East $56, West $49, and total $105. A fixed source range may exclude the added row even after refresh. Repair the source definition rather than typing the expected number over the result.

For a chart, use a simple labeled bar or column comparison with a zero baseline. Do not label sales as profit when costs are absent. State the period and exclusions. The READY Excel course includes supplied files, separate cleaning practice, and a final report handoff that makes these checks repeatable.

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