Workbooks and Worksheets

A workbook is the whole NorthgateBudget.xlsx file — one .xlsx on disk.

A worksheet is one tab — one grid. James Okonkwo keeps planned budgets and logged purchases on separate tabs because mixing them on one grid makes sorting and PivotTables messy.

You will set up:

• Budgets — quarterly figures per department in cells A1:E6
• Expenses — individual purchases through the year

Both sheets live in the same workbook. Formulas on Budgets can later read totals from Expenses.

Look at the sheet tabs at the bottom of the window. Right-click the Sheet1 tab, click Rename, type Budgets, and press Enter.

Expected result: The tab now reads Budgets. Double-click a sheet tab name to rename in one step — faster than right-click → Rename when you are setting up the file.

Click the + icon to the right of the sheet tabs (or right-click a tab → Insert → Worksheet). A new tab appears — often Sheet2. Rename it to Expenses (right-click → Rename).

Expected result: Two tabs: Budgets and Expenses. Click each tab to switch grids.

Tip: Ctrl+Page Down / Ctrl+Page Up (Windows) or Fn+Ctrl+Down/Up (some Mac keyboards) jump between sheets.

Optional but helpful on a busy file: right-click the Budgets tab → Tab Color → pick a light blue. Right-click Expenses → Tab Color → pick a light green.

When Dr. Helen Marsh opens five tabs later (chart, pivot), colour helps spot the main data sheets instantly.

A formula on Budgets might later compare planned Q3 (D4) against actual spend pulled from Expenses. Both tabs stay in NorthgateBudget.xlsx — one email attachment for the governor pack.

After this lesson, NorthgateBudget.xlsx should have two worksheets: Budgets and Expenses. All five departments share one Budgets sheet in this course — not one sheet per department. Later lessons add BudgetChart and PivotSummary tabs.