Name: ____________________________
Using Excel to Keep a Checkbook Register
*This project is going to help you set up and keep a checkbook register.
Simply follow the directions, and let me know if you have any questions.
Please attach a printout of your Excel spreadsheet when you are finished.
Have fun!
1. Open the Microsoft Excel program on your computer; it will be located in the
Microsoft Office file. A blank grid should appear on your screen. This is the
spreadsheet you will be working with for this project.
2. Microsoft Excel allows you to either type text or numbers in the grid. It also
allows you to enter functions that can perform infinitely many tasks. Begin by
placing the cursor in cell B3 as shown below.
3. Type in the words “Date of Transaction” in this cell. To make this look “nicer”
on the screen, we need to reformat it. To do this, make sure that cell B3 is still
highlighted and click on the
icon to center your text. Next choose the
icon to make the text darker. Your spreadsheet should now look like the
following. (Notice that the words are longer than the cell space provided, this will
be taken care of in step 5.)
4. Now we can continue entering information. Highlight cell C3 and type in
“Description.” (To navigate through cells in Excel, you may either use the
mouse, the arrow keys, or the tab key.) Then move to cell D3 and type
“Purchase/Payment.” Next move to cell E3 and type “Deposit.” Finally, skip a
few rows and move to cell H3 and type “Balance.” Reformat all of the text that
you just entered like we did with “Date of Transaction.” Your spreadsheet should
look like the following:
5. You may notice that the text in some cells do not fit nicely in the allotted space.
We can change this by extending the width of each cell. To do this, position the
cursor between the gray-shaded cells B and C at the top of the grid so that the
cursor looks like
. When this appears, drag your mouse to the right until
you are able to see all of the text clearly. Repeat this with any o