A Beginner's Guide to Excel Formulas

Just learning about Excel formulas? This is the guide for you
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by Ted French
A spreadsheet expert who is a master at Excel and Google Sheets.
Updated November 06, 2018
217
217 people found this article helpful

When a formula is entered correctly and the data used in the formula changes, Excel automatically recalculates
and updates the answer.

This tutorial covers in detail how to create and use formulas and includes a step-by-step example of a basic
Excel formula. It also includes a complex formula example that relies on Excel's order of operations to calculate
the correct answer.

Note The instructions in this article apply to Excel 2019, 2016, 2013 and 2010; Excel Online; Excel 2019 for
Mac, Excel 2016 for Mac, and Excel 2011 for Mac.

Excel Formula Basics

Writing a spreadsheet formula is a little different than writing one in math class.

Always Start With the Equal Sign

The most notable difference is that Excel formulas start with the equal sign instead of ending with it.

Excel formulas look like this:

=3 + 2
instead of:
3+2=

The equal sign (=) always goes in the cell where you want the formula's answer to appear. The equal sign
indicates that what follows is part of a formula and not just a name or a number.
Once a formula is entered, the cell containing the formula shows the answer, rather than the formula. To see the
formula, select the cell that contains the answer and the formula appears in the formula bar located above the
worksheet.

While this simple example works, it has one major drawback. If you need to change the data used in the
formula, you need to edit or rewrite the formula.

Improve Formulas with Cell References

It's better to write a formula so that the data can be changed without having to change the formula itself. This is
done by entering the data in worksheet cells and then selecting the cells that contain the data to be used in the
formula.
This way, if the formula's data needs to change, the change is made by altering the data in the worksheet cells,
rather than altering the formula itself.

To tell Excel which cells contain the data you want to use, each cell has an address or cell reference.

About Cell References

 A cell is the intersection point between a vertical column and a horizontal row on the worksheet.
 Each column is identified by a letter at the top of the column, such as A, B, and C.
 Each row is identified by a number located at the left edge of the row, such as 1, 2, and 3.
 A cell reference is a combination of the column letter and row number that intersect at a cell's location,
such as A1, B2, C3, and W345.
 When writing cell references, the column letter always comes first.

To find a cell reference, look up to see which column the cell is in and then look to the left to find which row it
is in.

The current cell (the reference of the selected cell) is also displayed in the Name Box located above column A
in the worksheet.

So, instead of writing this formula in cell D1:

= 3 + 2

Enter the data into cells C1 and C2 and write this formula instead:

= C1+C2

Excel Basic Formula Example

Before you start building formulas, enter all data into the worksheet first. This makes it easy to tell which cell
references need to be included in the formula.

Entering data in a worksheet cell is a two-step process:

1. Type the data in the cell.

2. Press Enter or select another cell to complete the entry.

Tutorial Steps

To enter data as illustrated in the example accompanying this section:

1. Select cell C1 to make it the active cell.

2. Type a 3 in the cell and press Enter.
 3. Select cell C2.
4. Type a 2 in the cell and press Enter.

Enter the Formula

1. Select cell D1, which is the location where the results of the formula will appear.
2. Type the following formula into cell D1:

=C1+C2

3. Press Enter to complete the formula.

4. The answer 5 appears in cell D1.
5. If you select cell D1 again, the complete formula =C1+C2 appears in the formula bar above the
worksheet.

Typing the cell references as part of a formula is a valid way of entering them, as proven by the answer of 5 in
cell D1. But, there is another way to do it.

Enter Cell References With Pointing

The best way to enter the cell references in a formula is to use pointing. Pointing involves selecting cells to
enter their cell reference in the formula. The main advantage of using pointing is that it helps eliminate possible
errors caused by typing in the wrong cell reference.

In this step of the tutorial, you'll select cells to enter the cell references for the formula in cell D2.

1. Select cell D2 to make it the active cell.

2. Type the equal sign ( = ) in cell D2 to start the formula.
3. Select cell C1 to enter the cell reference in the formula.
4. Type a plus sign ( + ).
5. Select cell C2 to enter the second cell reference into the formula.
6. Press Enter to complete the formula.

The answer 5 appears in cell D2.

Update the Formula

To test the value of using cell references in an Excel formula, change the data in cell C1 from 3 to 6 and press
Enter.

The answers in both cells D1 and D2 automatically change from 5 to 8, but the formulas in both remain
unchanged.

Mathematical Operators and the Order of Operations

Creating formulas in Microsoft Excel is not difficult. It is just a matter of combining, in the right order, the cell
references of your data with the correct mathematical operator.

Mathematical Operators

The mathematical operators used in Excel formulas are similar to the ones used in math class.

 Subtraction – minus sign ( - )

 Addition – plus sign ( + )
 Division – forward slash ( / )
 Multiplication – asterisk ( * )
 Exponentiation – caret ( ^ )

Order of Operations

If more than one operator is used in a formula, Excel follows a specific order to perform the mathematical
operations.

This order of operations can be changed by adding brackets to the equation. An easy way to remember the order
of operations is to use the acronym BEDMAS.

 Brackets
 Exponents
 Division
 Multiplication
 Addition
 Subtraction

How the Order of Operations Works

Any operation(s) contained in brackets is carried out first, followed by any exponents.

After that, Excel considers division or multiplication operations to be of equal importance. These operations are
carried out in the order they occur, from left to right in the equation.

The same goes for the next two operations, addition and subtraction. They are considered equal in the order of
operations. Whichever one appears first in an equation, either addition or subtraction, is carried out first.

Use Multiple Operators in Excel Formulas

This second formula example requires Excel to use its order of operations to calculate the answer.

Enter the Data

Open a blank worksheet and enter the data shown in cells C1 to C5 in the image above.

A More Complex Excel Formula

Use pointing along with the correct brackets and mathematical operators to enter the following formula into cell
D1:

=(C2-C4)*C1+C3/C5

Press Enter when you're finished and the answer -4 appears in cell D1.
Detailed Steps for Entering the Formula

If you need help, use these steps to enter the formula:

1. Select cell D1 to make it the active cell.

2. Type the equal sign ( = ) into cell D1.
3. Type a round open bracket ( ( ) after the equal sign.
4. Select cell C2 to enter the cell reference in the formula.
5. Type the minus sign ( - ) after C2.
6. Select cell C4 to enter this cell reference into the formula.
7. Type a round closing bracket ( ) ) after C4.
8. Type the multiplication sign ( * ) after the closing round bracket.
9. Select cell C1 to enter this cell reference into the formula.
10. Type the plus sign ( + ) after C1.
11. Select cell C3 to enter this cell reference into the formula.
12. Type the division sign ( / ) after C3.
13. Select cell C5 to enter this cell reference into the formula.
14. Press Enter to complete the formula.
15. The answer -4 appears in cell D1.
16. If you select cell D1 again, the complete function =(C2-C4)*C1+C3/C5 appears in the formula bar
above the worksheet.

How Excel Calculates the Formula Answer

Excel arrives at the answer of -4 for the formula above using the BEDMAS rules to carry out the various
mathematical operations in the following order:

1. Excel first carries out the subtraction operation (C2-C4) or (5-6), since it is surrounded by brackets and
gets the result of -1.
2. Excel multiplies the -1 by 7 (the content of cell C1) to get an answer of -7.
3. Excel skips ahead to divide 9/3 (the content of cells C3 and C5) because division comes before addition
in BEDMAS to get a result of 3.
4. The last operation that needs to be carried out is to add -7 + 3 to get an answer for the entire formula of -
4.