INDEX

Lookup & Referenceintermediate

INDEX retrieves a value from a range based on a row number (and optionally a column number). On its own it's straightforward, but combined with MATCH it becomes one of the most powerful lookup methods in Excel — more flexible than VLOOKUP and available in every Excel version.

Syntax

Excel:=INDEX(array, row_num, [column_num])
Google Sheets: Same syntax

Parameters

arrayThe range to return a value from.
row_numThe row position within the array.
column_num?The column position within the array. Required if array has multiple columns.

? = optional parameter

Worked Example

Return the value in the 5th row of the amount column.

Row numbersAE
Header rowpositioninvoice_idamount
21INV-1001$12,500.00
32INV-1002$487.50
43INV-1003$18,750.00
54INV-1004$3,200.00
65 →INV-1005$7,600.00

Formula

=INDEX(C2:C6, 5)

Result

$7,600.00

INDEX goes to the 5th position in C2 through C6 and returns that value. In this visible sample, the 5th item in the amount range is C6, which contains $7,600.00.

Practice Exercises

2 exercises - work through each one using the data table below

Exercise 1 of 2beginner
#INDEX-001

Question

What vendor name is in the 10th row of the dataset?

Dataset

Showing rows 1-15

Download CSV
Row numbersAB
Header row
2INV-1001Cloudline Software
3INV-1002Apex Office Supply
4INV-1003Summit Consulting Group
5INV-1004Meridian Travel Co.
6INV-1005Forge & Frame Creative
7INV-1006NovaTech Solutions
8INV-1007Atlas Hardware Co.
9INV-1008Clearview Data Systems
10INV-1009Redstone Marketing
11INV-1010Keystone Legal Advisors
12INV-1011Cloudline Software
13INV-1012Basecamp Events
14INV-1013Apex Office Supply
15INV-1014BrightPath Analytics
16INV-1015Meridian Travel Co.
17

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Hints

Your Answer

Exercise 2 of 2intermediate
#INDEX-002

Question

Combine INDEX and MATCH: find the amount for the invoice from 'Basecamp Events' that appears first in the dataset. What's the amount?

Dataset

Vendor Spend Tracker (150 rows total)

Download CSV
Row numbersABC
Header row
2INV-1001Cloudline Software$12,500.00
3INV-1002Apex Office Supply$487.50
4INV-1003Summit Consulting Group$18,750.00
5INV-1004Meridian Travel Co.$3,200.00
6INV-1005Forge & Frame Creative$7,600.00
7INV-1006NovaTech Solutions$9,800.00
8INV-1007Atlas Hardware Co.$2,150.00
9INV-1008Clearview Data Systems$15,300.00
10INV-1009Redstone Marketing$4,250.00
11INV-1010Keystone Legal Advisors$8,900.00
12INV-1011Cloudline Software$8,500.00
13INV-1012Basecamp Events$8,256.80
14INV-1013Apex Office Supply$713.88
15INV-1014BrightPath Analytics$2,645.33
16INV-1015Meridian Travel Co.$4,702.01
17INV-1016Clearview Data Systems$3,400.74
18INV-1017Apex Office Supply$531.83
19INV-1018Summit Consulting Group$1,847.86
20INV-1019Cloudline Software$7,800.00
21INV-1020Atlas Hardware Co.$2,524.82
22INV-1021Meridian Travel Co.$2,934.55
23INV-1022Atlas Hardware Co.$2,912.75
24INV-1023Atlas Hardware Co.$4,124.04
25INV-1024Apex Office Supply$672.77
26INV-1025Redstone Marketing$5,371.63
27INV-1026Clearview Data Systems$3,796.96
28INV-1027Horizon IT Services$1,773.30
29INV-1028Basecamp Events$4,601.68
30INV-1029Redstone Marketing$5,414.85
31INV-1030BrightPath Analytics$2,704.87
32INV-1031Basecamp Events$2,351.63
33INV-1032Cloudline Software$9,200.00
34INV-1033Clearview Data Systems$4,086.27
35INV-1034Meridian Travel Co.$1,642.50
36INV-1035Cloudline Software$2,867.94
37INV-1036Horizon IT Services$4,586.87
38INV-1037BrightPath Analytics$2,679.33
39INV-1038Cloudline Software$2,284.90
40INV-1039Horizon IT Services$3,224.17
41INV-1040Apex Office Supply$604.96
42INV-1041Summit Consulting Group$9,500.00
43INV-1042Clearview Data Systems$3,871.90
44INV-1043Forge & Frame Creative$5,726.55
45INV-1044NovaTech Solutions$3,596.33
46INV-1045Meridian Travel Co.$5,657.73
47INV-1046Cloudline Software$8,000.00
48INV-1047Apex Office Supply$396.69
49INV-1048Apex Office Supply$523.99
50INV-1049Pinecrest Staffing$5,843.41
51INV-1050Clearview Data Systems$5,091.38
52INV-1051BrightPath Analytics$6,200.00
53INV-1052Keystone Legal Advisors$10,496.53
54INV-1053Cloudline Software$3,873.77
55INV-1054NovaTech Solutions$2,131.07
56INV-1055Basecamp Events$4,659.43
57INV-1056Cloudline Software$7,500.00
58INV-1057NovaTech Solutions$3,255.52
59INV-1058Clearview Data Systems$2,889.22
60INV-1059Basecamp Events$2,943.88
61INV-1060Horizon IT Services$3,917.25
62INV-1061Atlas Hardware Co.$2,958.71
63INV-1062Forge & Frame Creative$5,190.48
64INV-1063Meridian Travel Co.$3,800.00
65INV-1064Meridian Travel Co.$3,248.96
66INV-1065Cloudline Software$6,800.00
67INV-1066Redstone Marketing$4,583.65
68INV-1067Horizon IT Services$4,154.73
69INV-1068Cloudline Software$1,994.85
70INV-1069NovaTech Solutions$5,988.79
71INV-1070Apex Office Supply$701.90
72INV-1071Redstone Marketing$1,522.67
73INV-1072NovaTech Solutions$8,100.00
74INV-1073Summit Consulting Group$33,000.00
75INV-1074Atlas Hardware Co.$3,618.53
76INV-1075BrightPath Analytics$5,484.82
77INV-1076Clearview Data Systems$2,190.73
78INV-1077Meridian Travel Co.$4,915.98
79INV-1078Pinecrest Staffing$5,337.06
80INV-1079Meridian Travel Co.$5,217.40
81INV-1080Greenfield Facilities$4,199.01
82INV-1081Keystone Legal Advisors$7,880.94
83INV-1082Apex Office Supply$738.04
84INV-1083Cloudline Software$9,500.00
85INV-1084Meridian Travel Co.$3,706.27
86INV-1085Horizon IT Services$3,934.09
87INV-1086Cloudline Software$2,463.38
88INV-1087Apex Office Supply$404.67
89INV-1088Pinecrest Staffing$1,909.04
90INV-1089NovaTech Solutions$2,885.01
91INV-1090Meridian Travel Co.$5,922.08
92INV-1091Redstone Marketing$3,693.48
93INV-1092Cloudline Software$4,986.06
94INV-1093Cloudline Software$31,500.00
95INV-1094BrightPath Analytics$4,248.05
96INV-1095Redstone Marketing$3,264.04
97INV-1096BrightPath Analytics$5,977.55
98INV-1097Redstone Marketing$3,214.26
99INV-1098Cloudline Software$8,200.00
100INV-1099Meridian Travel Co.$2,709.54
101INV-1100Meridian Travel Co.$3,516.17
102INV-1101Forge & Frame Creative$3,122.47
103INV-1102Atlas Hardware Co.$4,530.21
104INV-1103NovaTech Solutions$4,352.17
105INV-1104Meridian Travel Co.$3,137.30
106INV-1105NovaTech Solutions$4,559.89
107INV-1106Pinecrest Staffing$7,400.00
108INV-1107Basecamp Events$2,724.75
109INV-1108Redstone Marketing$3,957.64
110INV-1109NovaTech Solutions$2,398.15
111INV-1110Horizon IT Services$5,015.14
112INV-1111Pinecrest Staffing$30,500.00
113INV-1112NovaTech Solutions$3,646.25
114INV-1113Cloudline Software$5,200.86
115INV-1114Meridian Travel Co.$1,878.57
116INV-1115Clearview Data Systems$4,287.78
117INV-1116Cloudline Software$5,505.30
118INV-1117Clearview Data Systems$4,658.66
119INV-1118Greenfield Facilities$5,042.80
120INV-1119Cloudline Software$7,000.00
121INV-1120Horizon IT Services$3,893.42
122INV-1121Meridian Travel Co.$5,864.21
123INV-1122Redstone Marketing$3,920.27
124INV-1123Redstone Marketing$4,600.00
125INV-1124NovaTech Solutions$1,602.74
126INV-1125Cloudline Software$5,250.09
127INV-1126Meridian Travel Co.$4,417.14
128INV-1127Horizon IT Services$5,900.00
129INV-1128Forge & Frame Creative$4,618.54
130INV-1129Cloudline Software$8,800.00
131INV-1130BrightPath Analytics$4,003.25
132INV-1131Keystone Legal Advisors$11,892.88
133INV-1132BrightPath Analytics$2,800.34
134INV-1133Meridian Travel Co.$4,365.68
135INV-1134NovaTech Solutions$2,264.09
136INV-1135Cloudline Software$5,344.04
137INV-1136Greenfield Facilities$1,733.29
138INV-1137Meridian Travel Co.$2,251.07
139INV-1138Apex Office Supply$367.30
140INV-1139Pinecrest Staffing$3,235.55
141INV-1140Pinecrest Staffing$4,538.25
142INV-1141Cloudline Software$7,200.00
143INV-1142NovaTech Solutions$2,487.53
144INV-1143Greenfield Facilities$4,398.73
145INV-1144Clearview Data Systems$4,282.05
146INV-1145Apex Office Supply$300.36
147INV-1146Cloudline Software$9,000.00
148INV-1147Summit Consulting Group$4,697.90
149INV-1148NovaTech Solutions$2,613.37
150INV-1149Greenfield Facilities$4,097.38
151INV-1150Greenfield Facilities$1,846.11
152

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Hints

Your Answer

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