Excel Course: A Complete Guide to Excel Training for Businesses

Your team wastes 8-12 hours a week on manual Excel tasks that could have been automated. They copy data between files, rebuild the same report every month and call you when a formula doesn’t work. It’s not their fault – they have simply never received the right training in Excel.

A well-planned Excel course takes 2-5 days but saves hundreds of hours per employee every year. This guide shows you how to choose the right Excel training based on current skills, business needs and budget.

We go through what the different course levels teach, compare online and classroom formats, show transparently what training costs and calculate the actual ROI. With 15 years of experience training Swedish companies in Excel, we know which courses create value and which waste time.

Why Excel training pays off

Most organisations dramatically underuse Excel. Employees know the basics – entering data, summing columns – but lack knowledge of the tools that actually save time.

ROI of Excel training

A typical advanced Excel course costs SEK 4,500 per person. If the course saves 3 hours per week (a conservative estimate), that gives:

• 3 hours × 48 working weeks = 144 hours saved per year
• At an hourly cost of SEK 400 = SEK 57,600 in value
• ROI: 1,180% in the first year

That doesn’t even take into account fewer errors, faster decision-making or increased employee satisfaction.

CFO, manufacturing company, Stockholm: “We calculated what our controllers spent on manual report handling. After a week-long VBA course they automated the process. It saved 600 hours in the first year, equivalent to SEK 240,000.”

The investment usually pays for itself within 2-4 months. More importantly, employees with the right skills can focus on analysis and decision support instead of data crunching.

Types of Excel courses

Excel training is not “one size fits all”. Different roles require different depth, and the wrong course level wastes both time and money.

Excel basic course

Who it’s for: Beginners, administrative staff, managers who want to understand the basics Duration: 2 days / 4×2 hours online Price: From SEK 3,500 per person

An Excel basic course covers everything from navigation and formatting to basic formulas and pivot tables. It is aimed at those who use Excel only occasionally or feel they have large gaps in their knowledge.

You learn: – Structure and format data professionally – Use basic formulas (SUM, AVERAGE, IF) – Create charts and visualisations – Filter and sort information – Build simple pivot tables

After the basic course, most participants can independently build budgets, manage customer lists and create professional reports.

Read more: Excel basic course: What you learn and who it suits

Advanced Excel course

Who it’s for: Experienced users who want to work more efficiently Duration: 3 days / 6×2 hours online Price: From SEK 4,500 per person

An advanced Excel course focuses on powerful tools for those who already master the basics. This is not a follow-up course – it is a course that changes how you work.

You learn: – Advanced lookup functions (VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, XLOOKUP) – Conditional calculation (SUMIF, COUNTIFS) – Power Query for data import and transformation – Advanced pivot tables and data models – Array formulas and dynamic ranges

Typical effect: Tasks that took 2 hours are done in 10 minutes.

Read more: Advanced Excel course: Go from beginner to expert

VBA course

Who it’s for: Those who want to automate repetitive workflows Duration: 3-5 days / 10×2 hours online Price: From SEK 5,500 per person

A VBA course teaches you to program macros to automate virtually anything in Excel. This is the right choice if your team does the same thing every day/week/month.

You learn: – Basic VBA programming – Recording and editing macros – Building user-friendly forms – Automating report generation – Handling data between different files

Real example: An automated monthly report that previously took 6 hours now takes 5 minutes.

Read more: VBA course: Learn to program in Excel and Excel automation: A complete guide to VBA

Customised corporate Excel training

Who it’s for: Teams with specific needs Duration: As needed (usually 2-3 days) Price: From SEK 15,000 per group (8-12 people)

Customised corporate training is tailored to your actual tasks. Instead of generic examples, you work with your own data and solve your real problems during the course.

The benefits: – The training focuses on what you actually need – You work with your own files and processes – All participants have the same level of knowledge afterwards – Better ROI than standard courses

We always start with a needs analysis in which we map out which tasks take the most time and which skills are missing.

Read more: Customised corporate Excel training: How to maximise the impact

Online vs instructor-led training

Both formats have their advantages. The right choice depends on your situation, not on what is “best”.

Online Excel course (remote)

Advantages: – Flexible scheduling – Lower cost (often 20-30% cheaper) – No travel time – Can pause and repeat – Suits geographically dispersed teams

Disadvantages: – Harder to ask spontaneous questions – Less networking – Requires self-discipline – Technical problems can disrupt

Best suited for: Basic and advanced level, individual participants, teams that cannot gather physically.

Instructor-led classroom course

Advantages: – Direct feedback from the instructor – Networking with other participants – Fewer distractions – Better for complex topics (VBA, customised training) – Greater engagement

Disadvantages: – Fixed schedule – Travel time and logistics – Higher cost – Requires everyone to be available at the same time

Best suited for: VBA courses, customised corporate training, teams that can gather in one place, complex topics.

Hybrid format

Many companies choose hybrid: theory online, practical workshop in person. It provides flexibility while maintaining engagement.

What does an Excel course cost?

Transparency about price helps you budget correctly. Here is what you can expect in the Swedish market.

Prices by course level

Course level	Open course (per person)	Corporate course (8-12 people)
Basic course	SEK 3,000 – 4,500	SEK 15,000 – 25,000
Advanced	SEK 4,000 – 6,000	SEK 20,000 – 35,000
VBA	SEK 5,000 – 8,000	SEK 25,000 – 45,000
Customised	N/A	SEK 30,000 – 80,000

Online courses are usually 20-30% cheaper than classroom courses.

What is included in the price?

Reputable course providers always include: – Complete course material (digital and/or printed) – Practical exercises – Certificate – Follow-up support (usually 30 days of email/phone support) – Coffee and lunch (for classroom courses)

Avoid courses that charge extra for material or certificates – it signals poor business practice.

Hidden costs to consider

• Working time (2-3 days’ pay per participant)
• Travel and accommodation (if the course is held in another city)
• Lost production during the course

A course priced at SEK 4,500 can cost SEK 12,000 in total once you include working time. That is why the ROI calculation is important.

How to choose the right Excel course

The wrong course wastes time and money. The right course transforms how your team works.

Assess current skills

Before you book, assess the team’s actual level:

Basic level if they: – Avoid Excel whenever possible – Feel unsure about formulas – Have learned “on the fly”

Advanced level if they: – Use Excel daily – Know basic formulas but get stuck on VLOOKUP – Run manual processes that could have been automated

VBA level if they: – Master advanced Excel – Do the same thing every day/week/month – Want to build tools for others

Call the provider and ask for a needs analysis. Reputable providers do this for free and can often assess the level in 10-15 minutes.

Match the course to business needs

Wrong: Send everyone on a basic course “just to be safe” Right: Map out which problems cost the most time

Examples: – Finance wastes 8 hours/week on manual reporting → VBA course – Salespeople cannot analyse their pipeline → Advanced course focused on pivot tables – Administration avoids Excel altogether → Basic course

Check the provider’s credibility

Ask for: – Reference customers (preferably in your industry) – The instructor’s background and experience – Course evaluations from previous participants – The chance to talk to someone who has taken the course

Warning signs: – No concrete course modules described – A “guarantee” of results without conditions – Very low price (indicates large groups or poor quality) – Hard to reach the provider with questions

Excel certification

Microsoft offers an official certification (MOS – Microsoft Office Specialist) for Excel. Is it worth it?

When certification is valuable

• You are looking for a job where Excel is a core skill
• Your employer requires documented skills
• You work as a consultant and need to show credibility
• You want structured progression in your learning

When certification doesn’t matter

• You work internally in an organisation that cares about results, not paper
• Your team already knows you can do Excel
• The cost (often SEK 2,000-3,000 extra) gives no ROI

Most companies care more about whether you can solve their actual problems than whether you have a certificate. But for job seekers or consultants it can be decisive.

Read more: Excel certification: Is it worth it? A guide for professionals

Frequently asked questions about Excel courses

How long does it take to learn Excel?

You learn the basics in 2 days. Becoming really good takes 6-12 months of regular use. VBA programming requires 3-6 months after basic Excel knowledge.

Can I learn Excel on my own for free online?

Yes, but it takes 3-5 times longer and you often learn the wrong methods. Courses provide structured learning, direct feedback and a focus on the right things from the start.

Do I need to know programming to learn VBA?

No. VBA is designed for non-programmers. A good VBA course teaches you what you need from the ground up.

How often should we update Excel training?

Basic skills last 3-5 years. Advanced features (Power Query, Power Pivot) evolve quickly – update every 2-3 years. VBA rarely changes, but best practices evolve.

What is the difference between Excel and Google Sheets?

Excel is more powerful for advanced analysis, automation and large data volumes. Google Sheets is better for real-time collaboration. Most companies need both, but Excel dominates professional data analysis.

Next step: Book your Excel course

You now know which level suits you, what it costs and what to expect. The next step is to book.

How to proceed

1. Assess current skills Call us on +46-10-264-20-20 for a free needs analysis. It takes 10-15 minutes and gives you a clear recommendation.

2. Choose a format – 5+ people? → A corporate course gives the best value – 1-4 people? → Open course or online – Complex needs? → Customised training

3. Book We keep groups small (max 12 people) and bookings fill up quickly. Book at least 4-6 weeks in advance for the best dates.

Upcoming course starts: – Excel basic course: Next start 15 February (Stockholm), 1 March (Online) – Advanced Excel: Next start 22 February (Stockholm), 8 March (Online) – VBA basic course: Next start 8 March (Stockholm), 15 March (Online)

Contact us

Phone: +46-10-264-20-20 Email: info@exceldepartment.com Offices: Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö

We answer questions on weekdays 8:00-17:00. Need a quick answer? Call us directly – we’re happy to help.

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About Excel Department

We have trained 2,000+ Swedish employees in Excel since 2010. Our instructors have 15+ years of practical experience in Excel consulting and only teach methods that are actually used in the real world.

All training is based on real cases from Swedish companies. We don’t teach “how Excel works” – we teach you how to solve your actual problems more efficiently.