You may want to wow your boss because you want a promotion, or a raise, or you simply want to stand out from the crowd. No matter the purpose, the first question is how?

What about Excel? Most of us, no matter our position, use spreadsheets in Excel. This program is a very robust business tool; here are some tips to improve your efficiency, which is bound to impress your boss.

• Hiding Information: There may be a time when you would like to hide certain information when printing an Excel spreadsheet. For instance, maybe your spreadsheet includes confidential salary information. Luckily, you can tell Excel not to print certain rows or columns by concealing them before you hit print. To hide rows or columns, select the corresponding number or letter then right-click on a highlighted row or column and click the Hide option. You can then choose the Unhide option to bring these columns and rows back into view.
• Timestamping: If you’d like to attach a date to your spreadsheet, you can use the Timestamp feature. Just hold Ctrl as you press the semicolon key. If you want the current date and time hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys while pressing the semicolon.
• A Better-Looking Spreadsheet: Give your spreadsheet a fresh look by employing Excel’s Themes option. You will find this in the Excel Ribbon, at the top. Click it, and you’ll be given a huge selection of fonts, and color schemes that you can apply to your spreadsheet. It’s also possible to design your own!
• Tracking Trends: This is called Sparklines and is only available in the most recent version of Excel. It allows you to create charts that show trends in the data within your spreadsheet. This may be helpful, for example, if you want to quickly see how many software bundles your company’s salespeople sold in the first half of last year.
• Conditional Formatting: With conditional formatting, you can automatically customize the look of spreadsheet cells that meet certain requirements. For instance, a cell showing that product sales rose by more than 100 % in a given month might take on a different hue so that it quickly stands out.