A spreadsheet is like an accountant's ledger. As with a ledger, it consists of a grid of rows and columns that enables you to organize data into a manageable form. Excel is a spreadsheet program that allows you to organize data, complete calculations, make decisions, graph data, and develop professional-looking reports.

There are three major parts of Excel or any other spreadsheet program:

• Worksheets. Allow you to enter, calculate, manipulate and analyze data.
• Charts. Pictorially represent data in two-dimensional and three-dimensional charts.
• Databases. Help manage data. For instance, once the data is entered, the software program can then sort the data, search for specific data, and select data that meets a criteria.

An advantage to using a spreadsheet program is that data can be recomputed instantly. For instance, if you change a student's score for a particular test, the spreadsheet program will automatically recalculate the total score to reflect the newly entered data. This cannot be done with a paper ledger unless you have an eraser or whiteout available near you.