Excel Advanced Data Management: PivotTables, Filtering and Validation

Prepare reliable Excel data and summarise it with PivotTables and PivotCharts. This course covers data validation, duplicates, advanced filters and slicers; the separate Expert Data Management course covers Power Query and Power Pivot.

View dates and fees

Level: Advanced
Length: 4 hours
Public class size: Up to 10

Who this course is for

People already using Excel who need the particular skills covered in this outline

What you will work on

Collect data with validation and pick lists
Remove duplicates and highlight invalid data
Advanced filters
Build a PivotTable from a dataset
Use a Pivot Source sheet for multiple reports
Create and print custom reports
Visualise results with PivotCharts
Apply slicers to data and charts

Outline checked against the Excel Advanced Data Management booking page on 2026-09-11. Confirm any must-have feature or software version with us before registering.

Choose your starting point

A useful starting point is Excel Intermediate 2 or comparable experience. This is a suggested learning path unless an explicit requirement is listed below.

Review the topics in Excel Intermediate 2 to compare your current skills.

For another step in this subject, compare Excel Expert Data Management and check that its topics match your next task.

Browse the Excel course comparison or ask for help choosing a course.

What comes with the public course

90 days of course video access with class exercise files
A free retake of the same course for one year
A Power Concepts certificate of completion

Already registered? Use student sign-in for your account, or find course manuals and exercise files.

Excel course questions

What should I know before Excel Advanced Data Management?

A useful starting point is Excel Intermediate 2 or comparable experience. This is a suggested learning path unless an explicit requirement is listed below.

Where can I check dates and fees?

Use the course booking links on this page to see the available sessions and their current prices. Check the session time zone, delivery format, currency and tax total before completing registration.

Can my team take this training together?

Contact Power Concepts to discuss a private session. Tell us the number of learners, their current experience, the work they need to do and the software versions they use so we can recommend a suitable scope.

What certificate does the course include?

The course includes a Power Concepts certificate of completion. It is not a vendor certification exam or a professional accounting qualification.

Dates and registration

Dates and fees: Excel Advanced Data Management

Choose a session on the booking site, then review the time zone, delivery details and final fee before registering.

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Learn PivotTables as part of reliable data management

A PivotTable is useful when its source data is consistent and its totals can be reconciled. Advanced Data Management combines PivotTable and PivotChart work with validation, duplicate handling, filters and slicers.

Before practice, identify what one row represents and whether the same transaction can appear twice. Check the source total against the summary and investigate unexpected blanks. If your main need is importing and refreshing several sources, compare Expert Data Management as the next stage in the pathway.

Build a reliable source before building reports

Advanced Data Management begins with the quality and structure of collected data. A useful training table has one header row, consistent field names and a clear meaning for each record. Validation and filters help reveal values that will otherwise produce misleading summaries.

This course covers validation, duplicate handling, advanced filters, PivotTables, PivotCharts and slicers. For importing and transforming repeatable source files with Power Query, compare Expert Data Management instead of assuming both outlines describe the same course.

Read a PivotChart alongside its source

Start with a PivotTable that answers one question, such as monthly activity by department, then choose a chart that makes that comparison easy to read. Change a filter and confirm that the displayed totals and chart labels agree. An attractive chart is not useful if its scope is unclear.

Advanced Data Management includes PivotCharts. If your goal is a coordinated set of charts with shared slicers and a polished management view, compare the dashboard course after checking the required starting skills.

Test what a slicer actually controls

Create a small report with two summaries and one category slicer. Select a category and check both summaries rather than assuming every object is connected. Add an item with no data in one period to see how the report communicates that absence.

Slicers appear in the data-management and dashboard outlines. The course choice depends on whether you are filtering a table or building a connected reporting view. Record the Excel version and source structure when asking which course best fits your workbook.

Prevent invalid entries at the point of entry

Use a short approved list for a field such as department, and decide how a new department should be added to that list. Test a pasted value as well as a typed value; the workflow needs a review for existing bad records, not just a helpful dropdown.

Validation and pick lists are explicitly included in Advanced Data Management. A useful exercise ends with a way to locate exceptions and a person responsible for maintaining the approved values after the workbook leaves the classroom.

Define a filter before interpreting its result

Write down the exact conditions, including whether they should both apply or either can apply. For example, an exception list might require an overdue date and an open status. Compare it with a second filter that accepts either condition and explain why the row counts differ.

Advanced filters are included in Advanced Data Management. Bring a small example of the report you need, with the expected matching records marked, so the exercise tests your business question rather than only the filter controls.

Give the Excel table a stable structure

A practical table has a meaningful name, a single header row and a consistent meaning for every column. Add a new record and check that calculations and dependent summaries continue to include it. Avoid placing a manual subtotal inside the source data and then counting it again in a report.

Tables are introduced in the intermediate pathway and support later reporting work. If the problem is building the source correctly, start there before choosing training focused on PivotTables or data models.

Sort and filter whole records

Use a dataset with a unique reference in the first column so you can detect whether a name has become separated from its amount. Sort through the table controls and check the reference against the original. Then filter to a subset and identify whether the visible totals describe that subset or the full dataset.

This is a useful readiness exercise for data-management training. If the distinction between hiding rows and removing records is uncertain, resolve it before building a reporting workflow on the filtered data.

Define a duplicate before removing it

Two rows with the same invoice number may be duplicate imports, or they may be different line items from one invoice. Decide the record’s identifying fields before using a remove-duplicates command. Keep the original data and record how many rows were removed.

Advanced Data Management includes duplicate handling and invalid-data checks. A strong exercise compares the cleaned total with a known control total and keeps an exception list, so removing duplicates does not silently remove legitimate business activity.

Ask whether a calculated field answers the right question

A report of margin percentage needs a clear definition. Averaging row percentages and dividing total margin by total sales can produce different results. Use a small example with unequal sales amounts to show the difference before choosing a calculation tool.

The public outline confirms PivotTables but does not enumerate every calculated-field feature. Ask about the exact calculation and your Excel version. More complex model-based measures belong in the discussion of Power Pivot and Expert Data Management.

Group records without obscuring dates

A training dataset should include several actual dates across two months and at least one blank or invalid value. Before grouping, confirm that the field behaves as a date. Then compare the grouped report with the original records to understand what each period contains.

If date grouping is a must-have topic, ask for confirmation when booking Advanced Data Management. The point of the exercise is a period definition you can explain, especially when calendar months differ from the reporting periods used at work.

Prepare for data-management training

Before the advanced data course, practise selecting a full table, sorting it and using its headings to filter. You should also be able to save a separate workbook copy and identify what one row represents. These are practical preparation checks, not additional formal prerequisites invented for registration.

Expert Data Management explicitly requires Advanced Data Management or equivalent experience. If you already build PivotTables at work, describe what you do and where it breaks so Power Concepts can help you compare the advanced and expert outlines.

Budget for the reporting skill you need

A PivotTable requirement usually points first to Advanced Data Management, whose published outline includes PivotTables, PivotCharts and slicers. Check the current course fee on its booking page rather than pricing an unrelated Excel level. Add the learner’s attendance time and a later practice block when requesting approval.

If your objective includes Power Query imports or a data model, compare the Expert Data Management outline as well. Ask for a scoped team quote when the training must use your organisation’s reporting structure.

Prepare a PivotTable exercise for online learning

Download the files and keep Excel visible while following the meeting. Test that you can share a workbook window if you need help, and remove unrelated documents from view. A small practice table is often easier to diagnose than a large live report.

The online format still needs active work: change a grouping, apply a filter and explain why the result changes. Confirm the session time zone and application version on registration so the technology supports the reporting skills you intend to practise.