There are two main ways to calculate percentages and variances within a PivotTable in Excel:

1. Using "Show Values As" Option:

* Percentages:
1. Click on a value cell within your PivotTable that you want to display as a percentage.
2. Right-click and select "Show Values As."
3. Choose the option relevant to your needs:
- "% of Column Total": This will show the value as a percentage of the total for that specific column.
- "% of Row Total": This will show the value as a percentage of the total for that specific row.
- "% of Grand Total": This will show the value as a percentage of the entire PivotTable's grand total.
* Variances:
Unfortunately, there's no built-in "Show Values As" option for variance. However, you can achieve this by adding a calculated field.

2. Using Calculated Fields:

* Variances:
1. Click anywhere within your PivotTable. This activates the PivotTable Analyze tab.
2. In the "Calculations" group, click "Fields, Items, & Sets" and then select "Calculated Field."
3. In the "Name" box, enter a clear name for your variance field (e.g., "Variance").
4. In the "Formula" box, enter the calculation for your variance. This will depend on your specific needs:
- To find the difference between two existing value fields (e.g., Sales this year vs. last year): `[Sales - Year (2023)] - [Sales - Year (2022)]` (Replace year labels with your actual field names).
- To find the percentage change between two existing value fields: `([Sales - Year (2023)] - [Sales - Year (2022)]) / [Sales - Year (2022)] * 100`
5. Click "Add" to add the calculated field to your PivotTable.
6. You can then position and format the variance field within your PivotTable.

Additional Tips:

* You can use similar techniques with calculated fields to calculate other metrics beyond variances.
* Remember to format your calculated fields appropriately (percentage or number) for better readability.
* PivotTables offer powerful filtering and sorting options. You can use these to analyze your percentages and variances for specific subsets of your data.