How to create spreadsheets in Numbers

Numbers is a versatile and capable tool for creating budgets, lists, invoices, and more

- KENNY HEMPHILL

WHEN IT COMES to spreadsheets and data–crunching applications, the Mac is still relatively poorly served.

If you don’t want to use Microsoft’s behemoth Excel (an application that began life on the Mac a full two years before the first Windows version), and would rather avoid web–browser-based tools like Google Sheets, then Numbers is by far the best option. Thankfully, Numbers is very good indeed when it comes to tasks like personal budgets, planners, invoicing, and pretty much anything that doesn’t involve macros code or the kind of enterprise-level automation at which Excel, well, excels.

Numbers’ great strength is in their ease of use and their templates. While basic, the templates are an excellent jumping-off point for creating your own spreadsheets, customizing them, and, in the process, learning how Numbers work. Many of its conventions are identical to those in Pages, including the way you import objects, such as images and style text. In this useful guide, we will show you exactly how to get started with a personal budget template, then get into more detail on data, formulas, and charts.

Create a spreadsheet in Numbers

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