Course Description
In this course, CPA, author, and Excel expert David H. Ringstrom will guide you through building a lease tracker from the ground up using Microsoft Excel. You'll discover how to structure lease data effectively, apply data validation to reduce input errors, and calculate lease durations using the DATEDIF function. David will demonstrate how to flag upcoming expirations, highlight critical leases, and summarize your lease portfolio with PivotTables. You’ll also learn how to protect your worksheet and create dynamic drop-down lists to streamline lease management. Whether you're new to lease tracking or looking to refine your existing process, this session offers practical, hands-on tips to help you manage lease agreements with confidence and clarity.
David is the author of Microsoft Excel 365 for Dummies: Exploring Microsoft Excel’s Hidden Treasures, and has written or co-authored six other books. He demonstrates every technique at least twice: first, on a PowerPoint slide with numbered steps, and second, in the subscription-based Excel for Microsoft 365. David draws your attention to any differences in Excel 2021, 2019 or 2016 during the presentation and in his detailed handouts. The handouts include an Excel workbook with most of the examples he uses during his demonstrations.
Excel for Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based product that receives periodic feature updates. Conversely, perpetually licensed versions have year numbers in their names and do not receive any feature updates.
Who should attend: Real estate professionals seeking to track lease data more effectively.
Level: Intermediate
Program Prerequisites: Prior experience with Microsoft Excel is recommended.
Topics typically covered:
- Calculating lease duration in years and months with DATEDIF.
- Most features and functions work in Excel for Mac as well but expect differences.
- Using Excel to gain control over lease dates and obligations.
- Minimizing ongoing spreadsheet maintenance with Excel’s Table feature.
- Using Conditional Formatting to identify expiring leases, missing data, and special statuses.
- Summarizing leases by status, expirations by month, and rent roll by property.
- Adding totals and filters that automatically adjust based on which rows are visible
- Securing worksheet logic by protecting cells that are hidden, preventing both edits and formula visibility.
- Laying the foundation for reliable lease tracking with a well-organized table.
- Tracking upcoming expirations with the IF and TODAY functions.
- Creating an in-cell list by way of Excel’s Data Validation feature.
Learning objectives:
- Recognize a unique characteristic of Excel's DATEDIF worksheet function.
- Recall the benefits of Excel's Table feature.
- Name the feature that allows you to store a user-defined list of items that you can use in any workbook.
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