Financial Modelling: Setup Excel for Productivity
This article is a part of our blog posts on how to build simple, readable and better financial models. The objective is to teach you how to be more productive, make lesser errors and make it easy for others to use the financial models build by you.
The first step in building a successful financial model is to setup your excel environment for increased productivity. There are several settings in excel and changing the settings listed below will help you become more productive and efficient.
1. Disable the Option to Allow Editing Directly in Cells
By default, excel allows you to edit the formulas directly in the cell as well as in the formula bar. The option to edit directly in cells is handy as it allows you to edit the formulas from right within the cell. However, while building a financial model it is better to turn this setting off. Once turned off, excel will allow you to edit a formula only in the formula bar.
Benefits of turning off ‘Edit directly in Cells’ Â
There are many benefits of turning off this setting.
- One benefit is that when you double click a cell containing a formula, it will select all the cells involved in that formula. You can then press tab to jump to each selected cell.
- Another benefit is that if you double click a cell which contains a formula with a link to another workbook, it will automatically open the other workbook and highlight the linked cell.
Turning off the ‘Edit Directly in Cells’ OptionÂ
Follow the following steps to turn this off.
Excel 2003: Tools -> Options -> Edit -> Un-tick ‘Edit directly in cell’
Excel 2010: File -> Options -> Advanced -> Un-tick ‘Allow editing directly in cells’
Click File menu, and then click Options. In the Advanced category, clear the Allow editing directly in cells check box to turn in-cell editing off.
2. Move Selection After Enter
By default, when you’ve entered a formula and you press enter, excel will automatically move the cursor to the next cell. If you’re doing some data entry, this default behaviour is fine. However, if you’re building financial models, and you need to review every formula you write then it would be better if you stayed on the same cell. To change this setting, use the following steps:
