Refresh vs Change Data Source?

Refresh updates the cache. Change Data Source is needed when rows were added outside the original range.

Should the source be an Excel Table?

Yes — Tables auto-expand and reduce stale pivot data when new rows are appended.

Refresh, then check filter fields and that the date column is recognized as dates not text.

Excel troubleshooting

Fix Pivot Tables that do not refresh, miss new rows, or show stale totals after the source data changes.

Pivot Tables stop updating when the source range does not include new rows, refresh has not been run, or the cache still points to old data.

Refresh the Pivot Table, expand the source range or convert it to an Excel Table, then rebuild if fields were renamed.

Click Refresh on the PivotTable Analyze tab after adding rows.
Confirm the source range includes blank rows only at the end, not in the middle of the dataset.
Convert the source data to a Table so new rows are included automatically.

Use Change Data Source to expand the range or point to a structured Table.
Remove and re-add fields if column headers changed.
Use Get Pivot Data carefully when linked formulas depend on the refreshed layout.

Refresh vs Change Data Source? Refresh updates the cache. Change Data Source is needed when rows were added outside the original range.
Should the source be an Excel Table? Yes — Tables auto-expand and reduce stale pivot data when new rows are appended.
Pivot shows old month after new data? Refresh, then check filter fields and that the date column is recognized as dates not text.

Problem: Pivot Tables stop updating when the source range does not include new rows, refresh has not been run, or the cache still points to old data.
Quick fix: Refresh the Pivot Table, expand the source range or convert it to an Excel Table, then rebuild if fields were renamed.
Reproduce on three sample rows before changing production formulas shared with the whole team.
Save version history or a copy before bulk find-replace across thousands of cells.
If the fix works on a sample but fails in production, compare text vs number storage on key columns.

SUBTOTAL (/functions/subtotal/): =SUBTOTAL(function_num, ref1, [ref2], ...) — Returns a subtotal in a list or database, with options to include or exclude hidden values.
SUMIFS (/functions/sumifs/): =SUMIFS(sum_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...) — Adds cells that meet multiple criteria across multiple ranges.
COUNTIFS (/functions/countifs/): =COUNTIFS(criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...) — Counts cells that meet multiple criteria across multiple ranges.

Rebuild the formula on a blank sheet with minimal ranges to isolate the failing argument.
Document the root cause in a shared runbook so the next teammate does not repeat the same fix.
Link to fix-excel-formula-errors (/guides/fix-excel-formula-errors/) when multiple error types appear.
Escalate to Power Query or IT when the source system export format changed without notice.