Hey everyone! I’m scratching my head over a Google Sheets problem. I’ve got two lists with customer info, and I need to add inventory for each customer. But I’m stuck!
Here’s what I’m dealing with:
List 1: Customer names and details
List 2: Same customers, but with their inventory
I want to combine these so I can see each customer’s inventory alongside their info. Is there a simple formula or trick to do this? I’ve tried a few things, but no luck so far.
Any ideas would be super helpful! Thanks in advance for your Sheets wisdom!
Have you considered using Google Sheets’ QUERY function? It’s incredibly powerful for combining data from multiple sheets. Here’s a method I’ve used successfully:
In a new sheet, use this formula:
=QUERY({‘List1’!A:Z; ‘List2’!A:Z}, “SELECT * WHERE Col1 IS NOT NULL”)
Adjust column ranges as needed. This combines both lists, removing duplicates automatically, and you can sort or filter as required.
The QUERY function offers more flexibility than VLOOKUP or INDEX-MATCH for complex data merging. It’s worth learning for future projects, just ensure your column headers match across both sheets for best results.
hey henryg, sounds like a job for VLOOKUP! set up a new column in list 1 and use VLOOKUP to pull inventory data from list 2. formula would be like =VLOOKUP(A2, List2!A:B, 2, FALSE) where A2 is customer name. hope this helps!
I’ve been in a similar situation before, and while VLOOKUP is a solid option, I found INDEX-MATCH to be more flexible and less prone to errors, especially if your data might change or columns get moved around.
Here’s what worked for me:
In List 1, add a new column for inventory. Then use this formula:
=INDEX(List2!B:B, MATCH(A2, List2!A:A, 0))
Where A2 is your customer name in List 1, and List2!B:B is your inventory column in List 2.
This approach allows you to pull data from any column in List 2 without changing the whole formula. It’s also faster for large datasets.
Remember to double-check your column references and sheet names. Good luck with your project!