How to Leverage Multiple Worksheets in MS Excel

Microsoft Excel is one of the most powerful and versatile tools for project managers. Beyond simple data entry, Excel allows you to link, summarize, and analyze information across multiple worksheets. This skill is especially valuable when managing project resources, financials, or performance data.

In the video below, we walk through how to reference multiple worksheets in Excel to create a summary worksheet. Our example shows how to track employee total hours for the year alongside associated project costs. By linking data between two source worksheets, we’re able to build a dynamic summary that updates automatically whenever the source data changes.

Why Cross-Referencing Worksheets Matters in Project Management

As a project manager, you’re often juggling multiple data sources:

• One sheet may track resource assignments.

• Another may contain budget data.

• A third may be your project summary dashboard for executives.

By learning how to reference worksheets in Excel, you can:

• Save hours of manual copying and pasting.

• Reduce the risk of calculation errors.

• Present clean, consolidated project data.

For example, if your resource hours are stored in “Worksheet A” and your financial costs are in “Worksheet B,” you can pull both into “Worksheet C” as a summary sheet that highlights totals, averages, or KPIs.

Step-by-Step: Referencing Worksheets in Excel

1. Start with the equals sign (=)In your summary worksheet, click the cell where you want the data to appear and type =.

2. Navigate to the source worksheetClick the tab of the worksheet you want to reference (e.g., “Hours”) and then select the cell you need.

3. Confirm the referencePress Enter. Excel will automatically create a reference like:

   =Hours!B2

   This tells Excel to pull the value from cell B2 in the “Hours” worksheet.

4. Repeat for other worksheetsIf your costs are in another sheet called “Budget,” you might enter:

   =Budget!C5

5. Now your summary sheet combines hours and costs dynamically.

Practical Uses for Project Managers

• Resource Tracking: Consolidate employee utilization across different teams.

• Budget Summaries: Compare planned versus actual costs.

• Project Dashboards: Present executives with a single sheet that updates automatically.

With these techniques, Excel becomes more than a spreadsheet — it becomes a project management reporting tool.

Next Steps to Master Excel for Project Management

If you found this tutorial useful, don’t stop here. Excel has countless features that can transform the way you manage projects, from pivot tables to financial forecasting.