Direct answer: a pivot table summarises a data table by dragging fields into Rows, Columns, Values and Filters, without writing formulas. Select any cell in your table, then choose Insert > PivotTable.
Prepare the data
Pivots need a clean table: one header row, no merged cells, no blank rows, one fact per column. Convert the range to a Table (Ctrl+T) so new rows are included at refresh.
Build your first summary
- Insert > PivotTable, place it on a new sheet.
- Drag Region to Rows and Revenue to Values.
- Drag Month to Columns to see a region-by-month grid.
- Right-click a value > Show Values As > % of Column Total for share analysis.
Group dates and numbers
Right-click a date field > Group to roll up to months, quarters or years. For age bands or price bands, group numeric fields with a start, end and step.
Slicers and timelines
Slicers give clickable filters; timelines filter by date range. Connect one slicer to several pivots through Report Connections so a dashboard reacts as one.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting to refresh after changing source data
- Counting instead of summing because a column holds text numbers
- Mixing different grains in one table (orders and order lines)
Best practices
Keep raw data on its own sheet, name your Tables, and put pivots on separate report sheets. If cleaning is repetitive, load the data through Power Query.
Conclusion
Pivots are the fastest route from rows to answers. Continue with Excel dashboards or learn the full workflow in the Excel course.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my pivot table not updating?
Pivot tables do not refresh automatically when data changes. Use Data > Refresh All, or set refresh on open.
Why are dates not grouping?
Some cells likely contain text or blanks. Fix the date column first.