The Excel consolidate function will still work if there are different labels in the left column. What if the data sources have different items? This may be common for an analyst or manager working in financial planning and analysis (FP&A) or other accounting functions. One example would be combining budgets from various departments into one company-wide budget. There are many reasons a financial analyst may want to use the Excel consolidate function. Step 7: Check boxes “top row”, “left column”, and “create links to data source” (note you don’t have to tick these boxes if you don’t want labels or don’t want live links) and click the OK button. Step 6: Repeat step 5 for each worksheet or workbook that contains the data you need included Step 5: Select the data, including the labels, and click Add Step 4: Select the method of consolidation (in our example, it’s Sum). Step 3: On the Data ribbons, select Data Tools and then Consolidate. Step 2: Ensure the data is organized in the same way (see example below).

Step 1: Open all files (workbooks) that contain the data you want to consolidate. The screenshots below will help you see an example of how to use the Excel consolidate function:

We’ve created a step-by-step guide to help you create your own consolidation by combining similarly organized data across multiple worksheets and workbooks.

How to combine excel workbooks into 1