Excel: Enter and analyze the meter reading

Microsoft Excel is an excellent tool for entering, managing and analyzing meter readings. We use a simple example to show you how to proceed.

Enter the meter reading of gas, water and electricity in Excel

For a clear listing, you should label your table downwards with the consecutive months.
Tip: If you enter the months according to the "01/2015" scheme, Excel automatically converts them to the appropriate date formatting, such as "Jan 15". If you have entered the month in the first cell, you can automatically fill the cells below with the following months.
You can then label the columns with the various counters, such as gas, water and electricity.
You can then fill your table with the corresponding values. It makes sense to enter the costs directly in euros, as this creates a uniform format for all meters.

A line chart is well suited to show the cost development over several months.

Use the mouse pointer to mark all the cells that belong to your table - including the labels for months and counters.
Switch to the "Insert" tab in Excel.
In the "Diagrams" area, go to "Line" and select one of the 2D line diagrams.
Excel automatically recognizes the information from the table and maintains it in a suitable line diagram. Here you can read the cost development for each meter individually.
If you want to make changes to the layout of the diagram, simply click on an element from it. You can then make various adjustments in the "Diagram tools" tab.

Analysis with color scales represents an alternative. The cells are automatically colored according to their value with a specific color tone.

Select an entire column with the mouse. Like in our example column [B] for the counter "gas".
Use the mouse to go to "Conditional Formatting"> "Color Scales".
Here you can choose from different variants: A scale from red to green is useful, with red standing for higher and green for lower costs.
If you have decided on a variant, Excel automatically colors the values from the previously selected column. As soon as you add a new value, the color fill is adjusted accordingly.

These instructions refer to Microsoft Excel 2010 under Windows 8.1. In another practical tip on Excel, we explain how to enter data using a mask.