Pivot tables are about multidimensional analysis. So what does that mean?

A simple example: Let's say your are the general manager of a fruit producer. Your company operates in several regions (North, South, East, West), has many products (apples, oranges, grapes), and every month you track sales. Suppose next you want a comprehensive report that will answer questions like

"How much revenue did grapes generate in West this year?" or,

"How do sales in South compare to North?" or,

"Are apples generating more revenue than oranges?"

A single pivot table can answer all these questions. Here are two keys for your success with pivot tables:

• Make sure the source data is in a nice flat format. Each column should have a header (Date, Region, Fruit, Sales). Ensure no empty rows or columns are in the data.
• When you create the pivot table, remember that dimensional data (Date, Region, Fruit) goes in a row, column, or page area, and value data (sales) goes in the data area.

Once you have the basic layout, you can drag the dimensions around to make the perfect configuration that answers your business questions.