How to Succeed in Business With Microsoft Excel 2003

1. Visit Microsoft Office's website and click 'Excel' under the 'Support' menu item, and then choose the 2003 version.
2. Learn as much as you can about how to use Excel through Microsoft Office's online tutorials (see Resource section). These courses are free on the company's website, and they will help you learn how to use the software in detail.
3. Click the 'Templates' link on the Microsoft Office home page and then click 'My Programs.'
4. Select 'Excel 2003' from the programs list and click 'Save.' This limits your online search to compatible templates. Search through the links provided for all useful templates for your business including budgets, forms, expense reports, invoices, receipts, project calculators and calendars. Downloading premade templates will save you time, and you can modify them to suit your business needs.
5. Visit the main Microsoft website and download the Office 2003 Compatibility Pack from the 'Downloads' area of the website (see Resource section). Follow the instructions on the site to download and install this software, which will make your Excel 2003 software compatible with newer versions so you can read and edit the .xlsx file format from newer versions of Excel. This enables you to exchange invoices and other business documents electronically without upgrading to newer versions of Excel.
6. Set aside time to do your Excel data entry when you won't be disturbed. You can use Excel throughout the workday to track your work flow, but many businesses experience a backlog in data entry. Excel can only help you track data if all data is entered, so make that part of your basic business operation.
7. Double-check all data you enter into Excel for accuracy. Excel cannot compensate for human error.
8. Back up all of your Excel documents regularly to an external hard drive, CD, USB drive or other media that is not part of your computer's hard drive. Regularly may mean daily for some businesses and weekly for others. Consider how much data you are willing to lose and base your backup schedule on the amount of data you would lose in a day versus time spent backing up.
9. Password-protect all documents containing private information, including your customers' contact information and any financial records you don't want others to access. Click 'Tools,' then 'Options,' and then click the 'Security' tab. Follow the dialog box instructions to secure your workbook and click 'OK.'