Graphed LogoGraphed
Login

How to Collect Data in Excel

Cody Schneider•

Excel is much more than a digital grid, it's a powerful and versatile tool for gathering all kinds of information. Whether you're tracking sales figures, logging project tasks, or compiling market research, a well-organized Excel sheet is often the first step to finding real insights. This guide will walk you through a variety of methods for collecting data in Excel, from simple manual entry with an organized twist to automated connections that pull information directly from files and the web.

The Foundation: Smarter Manual Data Entry

Typing data directly into cells is the most basic collection method, but doing it correctly from the start will save you countless headaches. A little bit of structure goes a long way. The key is to treat your data like a database: each row is a unique record, and each column is a specific attribute.

Tip 1: Always Use Excel Tables

If you're still entering data into plain cells, you're missing out on one of Excel's most helpful features. Formatting your data as a Table instantly makes it more organized, dynamic, and easier to analyze. Think of a simple list tracking social media posts:

  • Column A: Post Date

  • Column B: Platform (e.g., LinkedIn, Instagram)

  • Column C: Topic

  • Column D: Likes

  • Column E: Shares

Here’s how to convert this range into a powerhouse Table:

  1. Click anywhere inside your data range.

  2. Go to the Insert tab on the Ribbon and click Table.

  3. Confirm the data range and make sure the box for "My table has headers" is checked.

  4. Click OK.

Instantly, your data is color-coded, filter buttons appear on your headers, and any new rows you add will automatically adopt the same formatting and formulas. It's a simple change with big benefits.

Tip 2: Use Data Validation to Prevent Errors

Typos are one of the biggest enemies of clean data. A classic example is a "Status" column where different team members might enter "Done," "Complete," or "Finished," making it impossible to filter accurately. Data Validation solves this by controlling what others can enter into a cell.

To create a simple dropdown list for our "Platform" column:

  1. Select the cells in your "Platform" column.

  2. Go to the Data tab and click on Data Validation.

  3. In the Settings tab, under "Allow:", choose List.

  4. In the "Source:" box, type your options separated by commas. For example: Facebook,Twitter,Instagram,LinkedIn.

  5. Click OK.

Now, a dropdown menu will appear whenever someone clicks inside that column, ensuring consistent and clean data every time.

Tip 3: For Simple Data Entry, Lean on Excel’s “Form” Feature

Did you know Excel has a hidden, built-in form for data entry? It simplifies a wide layout of columns into a neat vertical form, making it much faster to add new records without scrolling horizontally.

To use it, you first need to add it to your Quick Access Toolbar:

  1. Click the small customization arrow on the right side of the Quick Access Toolbar (the tiny buttons at the very top of Excel).

  2. Select More Commands...

  3. In the "Choose commands from:" dropdown, select Commands Not in the Ribbon.

  4. Scroll down and find Form..., click it, and then click Add >>.

  5. Click OK. The form icon (a small grid) will now be in your Quick Access Toolbar.

To use the form, simply click anywhere inside your Excel Table and then click the newly added Form icon. A pop-up box will appear with fields for each of your columns, which you can fill out and press "New" to add directly to your sheet.

Automating Data Collection Through Connections

Once you've outgrown manual entry, Excel's Get & Transform Data tools (powered by Power Query) unlock a new level of automation. This built-in engine allows you to connect to external data sources, so your workbook can be updated with a single click, rather than repetitive copy-pasting.

How to Pull Live Data from a Website

Imagine you want to track a public table of financial data, like exchange rates, from a website. Instead of copying that data over every day, you can tell Excel to grab it for you.

For example, let's pull a list of countries by population from a Wikipedia page:

  1. Find a website with the data you need organized in an HTML table.

  2. Copy the URL of the webpage.

  3. In Excel, go to the Data tab.

  4. Click From Web in the "Get & Transform Data" group.

  5. Paste the URL into the dialog box and click OK.

  6. A Navigator window will appear, showing all the tables Excel detected on the page. Click through them until you find the one you need.

  7. Select your desired table and click Load.

Excel will import the data and format it as an Excel Table. The best part? Whenever you want the latest data, just go to the Data tab and click Refresh All. Excel will visit the website again and pull in the updated information automatically.

How to Import and Combine Data from a Folder

This is a lifesaver for anyone who receives data in pieces - like monthly sales reports, weekly campaign performance downloads, or daily log files.

Let's say every week you export a CSV file of sales data, and you've saved them all in a single folder named "Weekly Sales Reports." Instead of opening each file and pasting its contents into a master sheet, you can point Excel at the folder and have it combine everything for you.

  1. Put all your files (e.g., Week1.csv, Week2.csv, Week3.csv) into one folder on your computer.

  2. In a new Excel workbook, go to the Data tab.

  3. Click Get Data > From File > From Folder.

  4. Browse to and select the folder containing your files and click Open.

  5. A preview window will show you the files in the folder. At the bottom, click the dropdown next to the "Combine" button and select Combine & Load.

  6. Excel will give you a preview of the first file. Confirm it looks correct and click OK.

Power Query works its magic, stacking all the files into a single, comprehensive table in your worksheet. The next time you get a new weekly file, just drop it into the "Weekly Sales Reports" folder and hit Refresh All in Excel. Your master table will update to include the new data - no copy-paste required.

How to Connect Directly to Another Excel Workbook

You can also use this same 'Get & Transform' method to create a dashboard in one Excel file that sources data from another. This is great for separating raw data from your analysis.

  1. Go to the Data tab.

  2. Click Get Data > From File > From Excel Workbook.

  3. Select the source workbook and click Import.

  4. The Navigator will show you all the sheets and tables in that source file. Select the specific data table you want to link to and click Load.

Now you have a read-only copy of the source data in your new workbook. Whenever the original workbook is updated, a simple refresh will pull those changes into your analysis sheet.

Final Thoughts

You’ve seen several ways to approach data collection in Excel, progressing from foundational best practices like using tables to automated workflows that source data from the web and files. Learning even one or two Power Query techniques can drastically reduce the hours spent on tedious data preparation, leaving you more time for the actual analysis.

While Excel is fantastic, wrangling modern business data often means connecting to live platforms like Shopify, Google Analytics, Salesforce, or Facebook Ads. Manually exporting CSVs from each of these starts the cycle all over again. To completely eliminate this friction, we built a tool called Graphed to be your AI data analyst. We replace the manual data gathering process with one-click integrations, so all your marketing and sales data is in one place and always in sync. Instead of navigating Power Query, you can just ask questions in plain English, and our system will build the live dashboards you need automatically.