
With the =VLOOKUP text entered into your first cell, it’s time to fill the formula with four different criteria. You can also enter this formula into a call manually by entering the bold text above exactly into your desired cell. The cell you currently have highlighted in your spreadsheet should now look like this: “ =VLOOKUP()“ Then, select OK or Insert Function to start building your VLOOKUP. Search for and select “VLOOKUP” from the list of options included in the Formula Builder. A box titled Formula Builder or Insert Function will appear to the right of your screen (depending on which version of Excel you have). Click on the first empty cell beneath your column title and then click this function icon. To the left of the text bar above your spreadsheet, you’ll see a small function icon that looks like a script: Fx. Select ‘Function’ (Fx) > VLOOKUP and insert this formula into your highlighted cell. This new column is where the data you’re fetching will go. With that in mind, label a column next to the cells you want more information on with a proper title in the top cell, such as “MRR,” for monthly recurring revenue. Remember, you’re looking to retrieve data from another sheet and deposit it into this one. Identify a column of cells you’d like to fill with new data. In the steps below, we’ll assign the right value to each of these components, using customer names as our unique identifier to find the MRR of each customer.


The formula always searches to the right. When you look up your data, it must be listed vertically wherever that data is located. VLOOKUP stands for “vertical lookup.” In Excel, this means the act of looking up data vertically across a spreadsheet, using the spreadsheet’s columns - and a unique identifier within those columns - as the basis of your search. What does VLOOKUP do, exactly? Here’s the simple explanation: The VLOOKUP function searches for a specific value in your data, and once it identifies that value, it can find - and display - some other piece of information that’s associated with that value. What’s more, it is incredibly powerful, and is definitely something you want to have in your arsenal of analytical weapons. Microsoft Excel’s VLOOKUP function is easier to use than you think. But by the time you finish reading this article, you’ll wonder how you ever survived in Excel without it. I know, “VLOOKUP function” sounds like the geekiest, most complicated thing ever. The VLOOKUP function can help you automate this task and save you tons of time. The last thing you want to do is manually transfer cells using copy and paste. That headache can be made even worse when you need to compare data across multiple spreadsheets. Coordinating a massive amount of data in Microsoft Excel is a time-consuming headache.
