The Excel Formulas and Functions training gives you a solid foundation to turn Excel from a basic spreadsheet into a real decision making tool. In half a day, you learn to build reliable calculations, chain together the essential functions, combine several functions in a single formula, and quickly fix the errors that slow your files down. A skill that has become unavoidable for professionals in French speaking Switzerland.
Master Excel formulas and functions to become more autonomous every day
For professionals in French speaking Switzerland, working confidently with Excel formulas is now expected in most administrative, financial, HR, and operational roles. This Excel formulas and functions training concentrates on real world cases: automating totals, cross referencing data from multiple sheets, securing references between cells, making your reports more reliable, and saving real time on repetitive tasks. You walk away with practical reflexes you can use the very next day at the office, plus course materials to dig deeper at your own pace.
Module 01: Formulas
Module 02: Functions
Module 03 : Troubleshooting functions and formulas
Excel remains the most widely used office tool in French speaking Switzerland, from small SMEs to international headquarters. But simply opening a workbook is no longer enough: what really makes the difference is the ability to turn a spreadsheet into a decision making tool. Excel formulas and functions are precisely what enables this shift from a static spreadsheet to dynamic analysis.
Without formulas, Excel is just a grid. With the right functions, you automate calculations, cross reference data, make your reports reliable, and save serious time on repetitive tasks. This Excel formulas and functions training gives you these reflexes in half a day, starting from the basics and going all the way to nested functions.
In real working environments, a handful of functions covers most business needs. The training tackles the ones found in the vast majority of professional workbooks: SUM, AVERAGE, MAX, and MIN for basic calculations, IF, AND, and OR for conditional logic, COUNTIF and SUMIF for conditional counts and totals, and VLOOKUP to pull information from another table.
You also learn date functions (TODAY, MONTH, DAY, WEEKDAY) to calculate deadlines, text functions (LEFT, CONCAT, UPPER, SEARCH) to clean and reformat imported data, and rounding functions to present readable numbers. All of this is practiced on real cases, not in theory.
Microsoft has been evolving Excel with more powerful and simpler functions over the past few years: XLOOKUP (a clear upgrade over VLOOKUP), FILTER and UNIQUE (to extract and deduplicate data in a single formula), and LET (to make complex formulas more readable). These modern functions are mentioned and positioned during the Excel formulas and functions training, so you know what to learn next.
To go further on these Excel 365 functions and on advanced modeling, the Excel Formulas and Functions Advanced course is the natural next step after this half day, covering dynamic array formulas, structured references, and advanced auditing techniques.
The training is designed for anyone who produces or consumes Excel files without making the most of them. Accountants and management controllers who want to make their financial tables more reliable, assistants and secretaries who automate their reporting, project managers tracking budgets and deadlines, HR staff cross referencing payroll and headcount data, and self employed professionals running their own activity.
No programming background is required: if you can open an Excel file, enter data, and apply basic formatting, you have the right starting point for this training.
At our ITTA centers in Carouge and Le Flon, this training runs as an intensive half day with an expert Excel instructor and a small group to ensure personalized follow up. You work on real workbooks, you test each function on your own examples, and you leave with course materials to reproduce every step at your own desk.
What is the difference between an Excel formula and an Excel function?
A formula is a calculation you write yourself in a cell (for example =A1+B1). A function is a built in shortcut provided by Excel (such as SUM, AVERAGE, VLOOKUP) that performs a more complex calculation for you. Most formulas combine operators with functions.
Should I learn VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP?
VLOOKUP is still the most common function in business and the training covers it. XLOOKUP is more recent and is now recommended by Microsoft for its simplicity and robustness. The training mentions XLOOKUP and the Excel Formulas Advanced course puts it into practice.
Is this Excel formulas and functions training suitable for beginners?
Yes, as long as you already know how to use Excel to enter data and apply basic formatting. If you are completely new to Excel, the Excel Level 1 course is a better first step.
Which Excel function should I learn first?
SUM, AVERAGE, IF, and VLOOKUP cover a large share of daily needs on their own. The training makes them operational, then moves on to date functions, text functions, and nested functions.
How long does it take to master Excel formulas?
The basics are acquired in a structured half day. Real mastery comes with practice on your own files. Course materials and exercises help you keep progressing after the training.
Do I need to know Excel before taking this training?
Basic usage is required: creating a workbook, entering data, selecting cells, and applying simple formatting. No prior calculation or programming knowledge is required.
Is this Excel training held in Geneva or Lausanne?
Both. The training is offered in person in Geneva (Carouge) and in Lausanne (Le Flon), as well as in a virtual classroom for participants attending remotely.
Administrative, finance, controlling, operations profiles wanting to master common Excel formulas and functions for daily autonomy gain. In Geneva and Lausanne, the course welcomes participants from international organizations, banking, consulting and growing SMEs. No specific prerequisite is required other than a concrete willingness to progress on the subject.
You leave with an operational mastery of the fundamentals, reusable canvases on your concrete cases, a structured action plan for the weeks that follow. Many participants report a visible effect from the first week back, with sustainable anchoring over four to six weeks of regular practice. The course combines short theory inputs, practical exercises on your real situations and personalized trainer debrief.
An assistant automating monthly tracking tables without tinkering on formulas. A controller producing recurring calculations (totals, averages, conditions) rigorously. A salesperson calculating commissions and margins with robust formulas. The course adapts exercises to your context with personalized trainer feedback, and each participant leaves with an action plan calibrated to their own situation.
Combines well with Excel Fundamentals, Excel Advanced formulas (XLOOKUP, FILTER, LET), Excel Pivot tables for analysis. Many participants enroll in one of these courses in the following trimester, according to their current priority and professional context.
Formulas and functions are Excel’s core. Mastering common functions (SUM, AVERAGE, IF, VLOOKUP, COUNTIF, COUNTA, CONCAT) is a major productivity leap for any business user. Recent evolutions (XLOOKUP, FILTER, LET) modernize these capabilities. This training lays foundations for rigorous use applicable from return.
At ITTA centers in Geneva and Lausanne, this course runs in a small group with an expert trainer and a format alternating concise theory, practical exercises and personalized debrief. Group confidentiality is explicit and held. Each participant arrives with a real case and leaves with an action plan calibrated to their context. The course integrates recent evolutions of the domain (digital tools, hybrid formats, 2025-2026 practices) without losing focus on fundamentals.
Does it cover modern functions (XLOOKUP)?
Yes, modern Excel 365 functions are introduced complementing classics.
Need Excel 365 license?
The course works with Excel 2019 or 2021. Modern functions only with Excel 365.
Do we work on personal files?
Yes, each participant can bring work files.
Where do sessions take place?
ITTA has three centers in French speaking Switzerland: in Geneva (Carouge, Route des Jeunes 35), in Lausanne at the Flon (Rue des Cotes de Montbenon 16) and at Lausanne Mon-Repos (Avenue de Mon-repos 24). The training is also available in virtual classroom.
Monday to Friday
8:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Tel. 058 307 73 00
ITTA
Route des jeunes 35
1227 Carouge, Suisse
Monday to Friday, from 8:30 am to 06:00 pm.
