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Mastering the VLOOKUP Function in MS Excel

The document explains the VLOOKUP function in MS Excel, detailing its syntax, parameters, and practical examples for use in business settings. It also addresses common errors that may occur, such as #REF!, #VALUE!, and #N/A, and provides solutions for error handling using the IFERROR function. Additionally, the document highlights the limitations of VLOOKUP and suggests alternatives like INDEX+MATCH and XLOOKUP for more advanced data lookup needs.

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25 views6 pages

Mastering the VLOOKUP Function in MS Excel

The document explains the VLOOKUP function in MS Excel, detailing its syntax, parameters, and practical examples for use in business settings. It also addresses common errors that may occur, such as #REF!, #VALUE!, and #N/A, and provides solutions for error handling using the IFERROR function. Additionally, the document highlights the limitations of VLOOKUP and suggests alternatives like INDEX+MATCH and XLOOKUP for more advanced data lookup needs.

Uploaded by

adsaasd
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Mastering the VLOOKUP Function in MS Excel

What is VLOOKUP?
VLOOKUP stands for Vertical Lookup. We can use it to scan your data to find a
matching value.

You can use the below syntax to write VLOOKUP.

SYNTAX

=VLOOKUP(search_value, in_this_data, return_column_number,


approximate_match_ok?)

● Search_value: this is the first parameter or option for VLOOKUP. You can
specify the lookup value here. It can be a typed-in value or reference to a cell
value.
● In_this_data: This is where your data is. It can be on the same worksheet or
in another tab. It can be a range of values (like B5:E17) or a table (like tblSales).
● return_column_number: This number tells VLOOKUP which column to
extract after the result is found.
● approximate_match_ok? This TRUE / FALSE setting tells VLOOKUP if you
want an approximate or exact match for your search.

VLOOKUP Explanation

Here is a simple VLOOKUP to get the sales value of Jessa Mae from my sales data in
the range $B$5:$E$17. The formula returns the result of $1592.

Refer to below image to understand the concept of VLOOKUP.

SYNTAX

=VLOOKUP(search_value, in_this_data, return_column_number,


approximate_match_ok?)

EXAMPLE
=VLOOKUP("Jessa Mae", $B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
RESULT
1592

EXPLANATION
Vertically looks up “Jessa Mae” in column B of the range B5:E17 and returns the
exact matching value from column D (3rd column from B). Refer to the above picture
and syntax to understand the concept.

VLOOKUP - 5 Essential Examples


Now that you understand the concept of VLOOKUP, let’s look at 5 essential
examples of this lookup function in day-to-day business settings.
Note: All these examples use the same sales dataset as above.

Possible Errors That Can Occur


There are 3 different errors that can occur if your VLOOKUP function cannot find a
match or is set up improperly.

● #REF! - If your function's Col_Index_Num is larger than the number of columns


in your Table_Array, your VLOOKUP function will return a #REF! error.
● #VALUE! - If your function's Col_Index_Num is less than 1, your VLOOKUP
function will return a #VALUE! error.
● #N/A - If you input FALSE (or 0) for your Range_Lookup parameter and no
exact match can be found, your VLOOKUP function will return a #N/A error. You
can hand this by wrapping an IFERROR function around your VLOOKUP
function.

How to fix the #N/A error in VLOOKUP?

We can use the IFERROR function of Excel to handle errors with our VLOOKUP
FORMULAS.

For example, you can use this formula to show a message like “Person not found” for
the Example 5 above.
'EXAMPLE 5 with error handling
'Looking for an non-existent value

'Formula:
=IFERROR(VLOOKUP("Rommel", B5:E17,2,FALSE), "Person not found")

'RESULT
Person not found

What are the limitations of VLOOKUP?

While VLOOKUP is a game changer when it was originally introduced, when you look at
the data challenges we all face in 2024, it suffers from many limitations. Here are the
main downsides of using VLOOKUP.

VLOOKUP cannot search for $2,133 and find the name of the person.

We can use either INDEX+MATCH or XLOOKUP to solve this.

● It can only lookup on the left-most column: VLOOKUP can only search on the
data in left-most column of the table and return values to the right. So, if you want
to find out the sales person’s name who has sales of $2,133, we can’t do that
with VLOOKUP.
○ We can use INDEX+MATCH or XLOOKUP to solve this problem.
● Column Numbers: Let’s be real. Nobody refers to their data by column
numbers. We think and memorize the data by what it is. So, if I want to lookup a
name and get the corresponding sales, then I must translate the sales to column
number for VLOOKUP. This is lame.
○ We can use XLOOKUP to fix this problem.
● No Error handling: VLOOKUP doesn’t handle errors by itself. So if your lookup
cannot find the value, it just comes back with #N/A. This often has a cascading
effect on the charts, dashboards or reports you create.
○ We can use either XLOOKUP or IFERROR to solve this problem.
● Approximate Trap: I can’t tell you how many times I accidentally leave the last
parameter of VLOOKUP out and end up getting wrong results. This is because, if
you forget to say FALSE at the end of VLOOKUP, you fall into the approximate
trap. Your VLOOKUP RESULTS WILL BE WRONG.
● We can use XLOOKUP or be careful when writing VLOOKUPS.

VLOOKUP Function Practice Examples


Here is an Excel file you can download to see ways you can apply the VLOOKUP
Function in your spreadsheets!

Task 1: Add First/Last Name From Another Table


In this Task, you are asked to add the first and last name of the employee to a Pay
Report. You will need to use the Employee ID to Vlookup the name columns from
another table so you don’t have to manually type out all the names.

Task 2: Vlookup From Multiple Tables


In this Task, you will need to reference two separate data table sources in order to
complete the requested Pay Report.
Task 3: Vlookup Using Approximate Matching
In this Task, you will need to utilized VLOOKUP’s approximate match capability to
categorize each employee to their proper payroll pay band based on the amount they
are being paid.

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