The basics of Excel formulas

Before providing the basic Excel formulas list, let's define the key terms just to
make sure we are on the same page. So, what do we call an Excel formula and Excel
function?

• Formula is an expression that calculates values in a cell or in a range of cells.

For example, =A1+A2+A3+A4 is a formula that adds up the values in cells A1 through
A4.

• Function is a predefined formula already available in Excel. Functions perform specific

calculations in a particular order based on the specified values, called arguments, or
parameters.

For example, instead of specifying each value to be summed like in the above formula,
you can use the SUM function to add up a range of cells: =SUM(A1:A4)

You can find all available Excel functions in the Function Library on the Formulas tab:

There exist 400+ functions in Excel, and the number is growing by version to
version. Of course, it's next to impossible to memorize all of them, and you actually don't
need to. The Function Wizard will help you find the function best suited for a particular
task, while the Excel Formula Intelligence will prompt the function's syntax and
arguments as soon as you type the function's name preceded by an equal sign in a cell:

Clicking the function's name will turn it into a blue hyperlink, which will open the Help topic
for that function.

Tip. You don't necessarily have to type a function name in all caps, Microsoft Excel will
automatically capitalize it once you finish typing the formula and press the Enter key to
complete it.

10 Excel basic functions you should definitely know

What follows below is a list of 10 simple yet really helpful functions that are a necessary
skill for everyone who wishes to turn from an Excel novice to an Excel professional.
 SUM

The first Excel function you should be familiar with is the one that performs the basic
arithmetic operation of addition:

SUM(number1, [number2], …)

In the syntax of all Excel functions, an argument enclosed in [square brackets] is optional,
other arguments are required. Meaning, your Sum formula should include at least 1
number, reference to a cell or a range of cells. For example:

=SUM(B2:B6) - adds up values in cells B2 through B6.

=SUM(B2, B6) - adds up values in cells B2 and B6.

If necessary, you can perform other calculations within a single formula, for example, add
up values in cells B2 through B6, and then divide the sum by 5:

=SUM(B2:B6)/5

To sum with conditions, use the SUMIF function: in the 1st argument, you enter the range
of cells to be tested against the criteria (A2:A6), in the 2nd argument - the criteria itself
(D2), and in the last argument - the cells to sum (B2:B6):

=SUMIF(A2:A6, D2, B2:B6)

In your Excel worksheets, the formulas may look something similar to this:

Tip. The fastest way to sum a column or row of numbers is to select a cell next to the
numbers you want to sum (the cell immediately below the last value in the column or to
the right of the last number in the row), and click the AutoSum button on the Home tab,
in the Formats group. Excel will insert a SUM formula for you automatically.

Useful resources:

• Excel Sum formula examples - formulas to total a column, rows, only filtered (visible)
cells, or sum across sheets.
• Excel AutoSum - the fastest way to sum a column or row of numbers.
• SUMIF in Excel - formula examples to conditionally sum cells.
• SUMIFS in Excel - formula examples to sum cells based on multiple criteria.

AVERAGE

The Excel AVERAGE function does exactly what its name suggests, i.e. finds an average,
or arithmetic mean, of numbers. Its syntax is similar to SUM's:

AVERAGE(number1, [number2], …)
 Having a closer look at the formula from the previous section (=SUM(B2:B6)/5), what
does it actually do? Sums values in cells B2 through B6, and then divides the result by 5.
And what do you call adding up a group of numbers and then dividing the sum by the
count of those numbers? Yep, an average!

The Excel AVERAGE function performs these calculations behind the scenes. So, instead
of dividing sum by count, you can simply put this formula in a cell:

=AVERAGE(B2:B6)

To average cells based on condition, use the following AVERAGEIF formula, where
A2:A6 is the criteria range, D3 is he criteria, and B2:B6 are the cells to average:

=AVERAGEIF(A2:A6, D3, B2:B6)

Useful resources:

• Excel AVERAGE - average cells with numbers.

• Excel AVERAGEA - find an average of cells with any data (numbers, Boolean and text
values).
• Excel AVERAGEIF - average cells based on one criterion.
• Excel AVERAGEIFS - average cells based on multiple criteria.
• How to calculate weighted average in Excel
• How to find moving average in Excel

MAX & MIN

The MAX and MIN formulas in Excel get the largest and smallest value in a set of
numbers, respectively. For our sample data set, the formulas will be as simple as:

=MAX(B2:B6)

=MIN(B2:B6)

Useful resources:

• MAX function - find the highest value.

• MAX IF formula - get the highest number with conditions.
• MAXIFS function - get the largest value based on multiple criteria.
• MIN function - return the smallest value in a data set.
• MINIFS function - find the smallest number based on one or several conditions.

COUNT & COUNTA

If you are curious to know how many cells in a given range contain numeric
values (numbers or dates), don't waste your time counting them by hand. The Excel
COUNT function will bring you the count in a heartbeat:

COUNT(value1, [value2], …)

While the COUNT function deals only with those cells that contain numbers, the COUNTA
function counts all cells that are not blank, whether they contain numbers, dates, times,
text, logical values of TRUE and FALSE, errors or empty text strings (""):

COUNTA (value1, [value2], …)

For example, to find out how many cells in column B contain numbers, use this formula:

=COUNT(B:B)

To count all non-empty cells in column B, go with this one:

=COUNTA(B:B)

In both formulas, you use the so-called "whole column reference" (B:B) that refers to all
the cells within column B.

The following screenshot shows the difference: while COUNT processes only numbers,
COUNTA outputs the total number of non-blank cells in column B, including the the text
value in the column header.

Useful resources:

• Excel COUNT function - a quick way to count cells with numbers.

• Excel COUNTA function - count cells with any values (non-empty cells).
• Excel COUNTIF function - count cells that meet one condition.
• Excel COUNTIFS function - count cells with several criteria.

IF

Judging by the number of IF-related comments on our blog, it's the most popular function
in Excel. In simple terms, you use an IF formula to ask Excel to test a certain condition
and return one value or perform one calculation if the condition is met, and another value
or calculation if the condition is not met:

IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])

 For example, the following IF statement checks if the order is completed (i.e. there is a
value in column C) or not. To test if a cell is not blank, you use the "not equal to" operator
( <>) in combination with an empty string (""). As the result, if cell C2 is not empty, the
formula returns "Yes", otherwise "No":

=IF(C2<>"", "Yes", "No")

Useful resources:

• IF function in Excel with formula examples

• How to use nested IFs in Excel
• IF formulas with multiple AND/OR conditions

TRIM

If your obviously correct Excel formulas return just a bunch of errors, one of the first things
to check is extra spaces in the referenced cells (You may be surprised to know how many
leading, trailing and in-between spaces lurk unnoticed in your sheets just until something
goes wrong!).

There are several ways to remove unwanted spaces in Excel, with the TRIM function
being the easiest one:

TRIM(text)

For example, to trim extra spaces in column A, enter the following formula in cell A1, and
then copy it down the column:

=TRIM(A1)

It will eliminate all extra spaces in cells but a single space character between words:

Useful resources:
• Excel TRIM function with formula examples
• How to delete line breaks and non-printing characters
• How to remove non-breaking spaces (&nbsp;)
• How to delete a specific non-printing character

LEN

Whenever you want to know the number of characters in a certain cell, LEN is the function
to use:

LEN(text)

Wish to find out how many characters are in cell A2? Just type the below formula into
another cell:

=LEN(A2)

Please keep in mind that the Excel LEN function counts absolutely all
characters including spaces:

Want to get the total count of characters in a range or cells or count only specific
characters? Please check out the following resources.

Useful resources:

• Excel LEN formulas to count characters in a cell

• Count a total number of characters in a range
• Count specific characters in a cell
• Count specific character in a range

AND & OR

These are the two most popular logical functions to check multiple criteria. The difference
is how they do this:

• AND returns TRUE if all conditions are met, FALSE otherwise.

• OR returns TRUE if any condition is met, FALSE otherwise.

While rarely used on their own, these functions come in very handy as part of bigger
formulas.

For example, to check the test results in columns B and C and return "Pass" if both are
greater than 60, "Fail" otherwise, use the following IF formula with an embedded AND
statement:

=IF(AND(B2>60, B2>60), "Pass", "Fail")

 If it's sufficient to have just one test score greater than 60 (either test 1 or test 2), embed
the OR statement:

=IF(OR(B2>60, B2>60), "Pass", "Fail")

Useful resources:

• Excel AND function with formula examples

• Excel OR function with formula examples

CONCATENATE

In case you want to take values from two or more cells and combine them into one cell,
use the concatenate operator (&) or the CONCATENATE function:

CONCATENATE(text1, [text2], …)

For example, to combine the values from cells A2 and B2, just enter the following formula
in a different cell:

=CONCATENATE(A2, B2)

To separate the combined values with a space, type the space character (" ") in the
arguments list:

=CONCATENATE(A2, " ", B2)

Useful resources:

• How to concatenate in Excel - formula examples to combine text strings, cells and
columns.

TODAY & NOW

 To see the current date and time whenever you open your worksheet without having to
manually update it on a daily basis, use either:

=TODAY() to insert the today's date in a cell.

=NOW() to insert the current date and time in a cell.

The beauty of these functions is that they don't require any arguments at all, you type the
formulas exactly as written above.

Useful resources:

• How to insert today's date in Excel - different ways to enter the current date and time in
Excel: as an unchangeable time stamp or automatically updatable date and time.
• Excel date functions with formula examples - formulas to convert date to text and vice
versa, extract a day, month or year from a date, calculate the difference between two
dates, and a lot more.

Excel formulas tips and how-to's

Now that you are familiar with the basic Excel formulas, these tips will give you some
guidance on how to use them most effectively and avoid common formula errors.

Copy the same formula to other cells instead of re-typing it

Once you have typed a formula into a cell, there is no need to re-type it over and over
again. Simply copy the formula to adjacent cells by dragging the fill handle (a small
square at the lower right-hand corner of the cell). To copy the formula to the whole
column, position the mouse pointer to the fill handle and double-click the plus sign.

Note. After copying the formula, make sure that all cell references are correct. Cell
references may change depending on whether they are absolute (do not change)
or relative (change).

For the detailed step-by-step instructions, please see How to copy formulas in Excel.

How to delete formula, but keep calculated value

When you remove a formula by pressing the Delete key, a calculated value is also
deleted. However, you can delete only the formula and keep the resulting value in the
cell. Here's how:
• Select all cells with your formulas.
• Press Ctrl + C to copy the selected cells.
• Right-click the selection, and then click Paste Values > Values to paste the calculated
values back to the selected cells. Or, press the Paste Special shortcut: Shift+F10 and
then V.

For the detailed steps with screenshots, please see How to replace formulas with their
values in Excel.

Do not enclose numbers in double quotes

Any text included in your Excel formulas should be enclosed in "quotation marks".
However, you should never do that to numbers, unless you want Excel to treat them as
text values.

For example, to check the value in cell B2 and return 1 for "Passed", 0 otherwise, you put
the following formula, say, in C2:

=IF(B2="pass", 1, 0)

Copy the formula down to other cells and you will have a column of 1's and 0's that can
be calculated without a hitch.

Now, see what happens if you double quote the numbers:

=IF(B2="pass", "1", "0")

At first sight, the output is normal - the same column of 1's and 0's. Upon a closer look,
however, you will notice that the resulting values are left-aligned in cells by default,
meaning those are numeric strings, not numbers! If later on someone will try to calculate
those 1's and 0's, they might end up pulling their hair out trying to figure out why a 100%
correct Sum or Count formula returns nothing but zero.

Don't format numbers in Excel formulas

Please remember this simple rule: numbers supplied to your Excel formulas should be
entered without any formatting like decimal separator or dollar sign. In North America and
some other countries, comma is the default argument separator, and the dollar sign ($)
is used to make absolute cell references. Using those characters in numbers may just
drive your Excel crazy :) So, instead of typing $2,000, simply type 2000, and then format
the output value to your liking by setting up a custom Excel number format.

Match all opening and closing parentheses in your formulas

When crating a complex Excel formula with one or more nested functions, you will have
to use more than one set of parentheses to define the order of calculations. In such
formulas, be sure to pair the parentheses properly so that there is a closing parenthesis
for every opening parenthesis. To make the job easier for you, Excel shades parenthesis
pairs in different colors when you enter or edit a formula.

Make sure Calculation Options are set to Automatic

If all of a sudden your Excel formulas have stopped recalculating automatically, most
likely the Calculation Options somehow switched to Manual. To fix this, go to
the Formulas tab > Calculation group, click the Calculation Options button, and
select Automatic.

If this does not help, check out these troubleshooting steps: Excel formulas not working:
fixes & solutions.

This is how you make and manage basic formulas in Excel. I how you will find this
information helpful. Anyway, I thank you for reading and hope to see you on our blog next
week.