Note: Don't forget to sign up for Part 2 on September 3rd, 2026 -
https://www.irem.org/webinars/id-webfasw-0926hq01/introduction_to_excel_dashboards_2026_-_part_2
08/27/2026
11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET
*approximate length: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Presenter: David Ringstrom, CPA
Building effective Excel dashboards requires more than attractive charts - it demands clean data, reliable refreshes, and smart interactivity. In this practical session, David Ringstrom, CPA and author of Excel for Dummies, demonstrates how to assemble dynamic dashboards using Excel’s built-in tools, without relying on fragile manual processes. You’ll see how to import and combine data from multiple Excel sources with Power Query, manage refresh and trust settings for external connections, and load curated data into worksheets for analysis. From there, David shows how to create PivotTables and PivotCharts, add and adjust fields efficiently, and enhance dashboards with slicers and timelines for intuitive filtering.
Designed for Excel users who want dashboards that are both informative and resilient, this webinar provides a clear, repeatable approach you can apply immediately.
David has more than 30 years of experience as a spreadsheet and accounting software consultant and speaker. He has presented over 2,500 live webinars and is the author or co-author of ten books, including “Microsoft 365 Excel All-in-One for Dummies”, “Microsoft 365 Excel for Dummies”, “Exploring Microsoft Excel’s Hidden Treasures”, and “QuickBooks Online for Dummies”.
In his webinars, David demonstrates every technique twice: first on a PowerPoint slide with numbered steps and then live in Excel for Microsoft 365 for Windows. He highlights any differences in Excel 2024, 2021, or 2019 during the presentation and in his detailed handouts. Attendees also receive an Excel workbook containing most of the examples he uses, making it easy to follow along and apply the techniques later. David additionally supports Excel for Mac users by answering their follow-up questions via email.
Who should attend: Designed for Excel users who build dashboards, combine data from multiple workbooks, or want more reliable, refreshable reports.
Topics typically covered:
- Controlling refresh behavior, background refresh, and Fast Data Load for Power Query connections
- Utilizing the Timeline feature to filter PivotTables based on date ranges.
- Placing linked PivotTables, charts, slicers, and timelines onto a single dashboard worksheet.
- Adding vendor attributes by merging the Vendors table into the existing Sales–Products query
- Bringing product and vendor lookup tables into Power Query for later merges
- Configuring PivotTable refresh and layout settings to ensure the dashboard updates reliably.
- Adding row, column, and value fields to define the PivotTable layout.
- Removing unwanted columns and loading the merged Power Query result into a new Excel worksheet
Learning objectives:
- Define what the Merge Queries command does in Power Query.
- State the set of commands used to display the Query Properties dialog box.
- State the purpose of the Data Connection security prompt.
Level: Intermediate
David H. Ringstrom, CPA, is an author and nationally recognized instructor who teaches scores of webinars each year. His Excel courses are based on 25 years of consulting and teaching experience. David’s mantra is “Either you work Excel, or it works you,” so he focuses on what he sees users don’t, but should, know about Microsoft Excel. His goal is to empower you to use Excel more effectively.