MS Excel VLOOKUP Explained
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
VLOOKUP is one of the most well-known and widely used Excel formulas. It allows you to search for a value in a table and return related information from another column.
It is commonly used in administrative, finance, HR, and reporting roles.
What Does VLOOKUP Do?
VLOOKUP searches for a value in the first column of a table and returns matching data from a specified column in the same row.
In simple terms:
It helps you automatically pull information from a table instead of searching manually.
For example:
Look up an employee ID and return their department
Search for a product code and return its price
Find a customer number and return their balance
The Structure of VLOOKUP
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
lookup_value – What you are searching for
table_array – The table containing the data
col_index_num – The column number to return data from
range_lookup – FALSE for exact match (recommended)
Example
If you have:
ID | Name | Department |
101 | Sarah | Finance |
102 | James | HR |
To return the department for ID 101:
=VLOOKUP(101, A2:C3, 3, FALSE)
Excel will return: Finance
Important Limitations
While VLOOKUP is useful, it does have some limitations:
It can only search from left to right
It may break if columns are inserted
It relies on column numbers instead of names
Because of this, many users now prefer XLOOKUP in newer versions of Excel.
When Should You Use VLOOKUP?
VLOOKUP is ideal when:
Working with structured tables
Retrieving matching information
Linking data between sheets
Performing quick data lookups
Final Thoughts
VLOOKUP remains one of the most important Excel formulas to understand, especially in entry-level finance and administrative roles.
If you regularly search for information manually, learning VLOOKUP can significantly improve your efficiency and accuracy.
Comments