Three Google Sheets formulas every startup should know

Executive overview

Most founders waste time on manual data wrangling that spreadsheet formulas can handle instantly. Three functions — IF, VLOOKUP, and QUERY — cover the majority of startup reporting and analysis needs.

IF handles conditional logic. VLOOKUP pulls specific values from a dataset. QUERY aggregates and slices data like a lightweight database.

Master these three and you can build most operational dashboards without a data team.

The IF function

• Syntax: IF(condition, value_if_true, value_if_false)
• Use to flag, label, or route data based on a threshold or rule
• Example: mark tweets with retweets vs. none — IF(G5>0, "has retweets", "no retweets")
• Changes the cell output dynamically as underlying data changes

The VLOOKUP function

• Looks up a value in the first column of a range, returns a value from another column in the same row
• Syntax: VLOOKUP(lookup_value, range, column_index, 0) — 0 forces exact match
• The lookup value must always be in the first column of your selected range
• Change the column index number to pull different fields for the same matched row

The QUERY function

• Treats a spreadsheet range like a database table — supports SELECT, WHERE, GROUP BY
• Syntax: QUERY(range, "SELECT ... WHERE ... GROUP BY ...", headers)
• headers argument (e.g. 1) tells the function how many header rows to use
• Use COUNT for number of rows, SUM for totals, GROUP BY to aggregate per category
• Example: count tweets and sum retweets per Twitter handle in a single formula