Traditionally, VLookup has been one of the most important tools for merging data in Excel, but the process requires multiple steps and can easily tire analysts who must merge multiple columns across many datasets.

Then hit ‘OK,’ watch the data propagate, and begin reviewing or analyzing the new sheet.

Important: Make sure the labels match.

Under ‘Reference,’ select ‘Browse’ to identify the Excel workbooks you want to consolidate the data from.

In this example, we’re using “Sum” to add together the total loans borrowed per member.

In the ‘Function’ box, select the function you want to use.

In a new empty worksheet, select ‘Consolidate.’.

Open each sheet you plan to use and confirm that the data types you want to consolidate in Excel match. If both sets of numeric data are already formatted in a similar way, such as prices always formatted as $1.00, you can use the Excel consolidate feature (under the ‘Data’ dropdown menu). You want to understand the total amount of loans borrowed by each member, so you may naturally wonder how to combine data in Excel. For this example, let’s say you are given two sets of data about the amount of loans a group of members have borrowed per year, each in an independent Excel workbook.

How to consolidate data in excel 2003