Excel Pivot Tables have a lot of useful calculations under the SHOW VALUES AS option and one that can help you a lot is the RANK LARGEST TO SMALLEST calculation.
This option will immediately calculate the rankings (1 being the LARGEST value) for your values, allowing you to pinpoint the risks or opportunities quickly!
In the example below I show you how to get the Rank Largest to Smallest:
STEP 1: Insert a new Pivot table by clicking on your data and going to Insert > Pivot Table > New Worksheet or Existing Worksheet
STEP 2: In the ROWS section put in the Sales Month field, in the COLUMNS put in the Financial Year field and in the VALUES area you need to put in the Sales field twice, I explain why below:
STEP 3: Click the second Sales field’s (Sum of SALES2) drop down and choose Value Field Settings
STEP 4: Select the Show Values As tab and from the drop down choose Rank Largest to Smallest.
Select Sales Month as the Base Field. This means that we will rank the Sales Values by the Sales Month (where Rank 1 is the Largest).
Also change the Custom Name into Rank Largest to Smallest to make it more presentable. Click OK.
You now have your Pivot Table, showing the Rank Largest to Smallest for the sales data of years 2012, 2013, and 2014.
You can see that each red box is the ranking for each year (for Years 2012, 2013, 2014, and the Total Rankings).
HELPFUL RESOURCE:
