FORMULA AND FUNCTIONS

HOW TO START A FORMULA

When you enter numbers, text or dates into excel it

will understand the differences between these

different types of data. When you want to add a

formula into excel you must start with =

HOW TO ADD

To values together you use the + symbol. With a

spreadsheet it is normal to “add” the cell references

rather than the actual values. Using this method the

totals will change when the values inside the cells

change.

The cell reference (i.e. A1) can be typed in manually

(using lowercase is fine here) or selected by clicking on

the cell with the mouse.

When you are finished, press Enter

HOW TO SUBTRACT

To subtract one value from another use the – symbol.

HOW TO DIVIDE

To divide, use the / symbol

HOW TO MULTIPLY

To multiply, use the * symbol.

This example will calculate 20% of 1000 giving the

answer 200. The answer can also be reached by

entering:

=K1*20% Or =K1*120%

For a 20% increase.

CALCULATING WITH DATES

A date is entered into Excel using the format D/M/YY.

Once entered it will format it correctly for you.

You can use dates to calculate with. If you subtract

one date from another you can calculate the number

of days between the two.

WHAT EXACTLY IS BODMAS

BoDMAS is a Mnemonic that helps you to remember

the priority that formula use when calculating. It

stands for:

Brackets ( )

over

Division /

Multiplication *

Addition +

Subtraction –

Let’s look at an example:

=A1-D10*F11

This will calculate D10*F11 first and then subtract A1.

It works this way because multiplication has a higher

priority than subtraction. This is where the brackets

help. Anything you put in brackets will be calculated

first, so:

=(A1-D10)*F11

Will calculate A1-D10 first (because of the brackets)

and then will multiply by F11.

Going back to the earlier example using dates, to

calculate how many weeks rather than days I could

use:

CREATE A FIXED ADDRESS

When you create a formula and then copy that

formula to other cells, the formula will update to

calculate the new column or new row. If you want to

stop a formula changing when you copy it – add $’s to

the address. The dollars will stop the formula updating

when it is copied.

=$A$1/12

The example above will always look the same, even

when the formula is copied. F4 is a shortcut that adds

the dollars. Add the cell address to your formula (=A1)

then press F4 (=$A$1)

CREATE A NAMED AREA (SHORTCUT ONLY)

To create a range name, highlight the area that you

wish to name. Then click in the name box.

Type in the name you wish to use (no spaces allowed)

and press RETURN to save it.

USING SUM

SUM is a function. A function is a pre-written formula.

Each function is designed to give a specific result; SUM

adds a range of cells.

Every function starts =, followed by the function name

and then brackets. SUM has a range of cells within its

brackets. A range is a start cell and an end cell

separated by a : (colon). For example A1:A10.

The easiest way to enter the range you want to “SUM”

is to use your mouse to click and drag a range.

Alternatively, try using the AutoSum icon.

Click where you want your sum to go and click on

AutoSum. Excel will do all the hard

work for you. You can also highlight

the cells that you wish to add and click AutoSum to

add the totals.

TOP 3 TIPS

1. To make a change to a formula, try double

clicking in the cell.

2. To add todays date into a cell use CTRL and ;

(semi colon)

3. Use =TODAY() to create a date that

automatically updates each day.

FORMULA AND FUNCTIONS

THE BASICS