Excel Formulas Cheat

Sheet
Basic Formulas
Formula Structure Explanation
AVERAGE =AVERAGE(A2:A10) Returns a mathematical average of a given cell range
COUNT =COUNT(A2:A10) Returns the count of the numbers in given cell range
MAX =MAX(A2:A10) Finds the largest value in a given cell range
MEDIAN =MEDIAN(A2:A10) Returns the median value, or middle value, in a given cell range
MIN =MIN(A2:A10) Finds the smallest value in a given cell range
SUM =SUM(A2:A10) Totals numbers in a given cell range
Cell range A2:A10 is used above to indicate that each formula uses a cell range as it arguments

Time Formulas
Formula Structure Explanation
TODAY =TODAY() Volatile – takes no arguments – returns today’s date
NOW =NOW() Volatile – takes no arguments – returns today’s date and time
DATEDIF =DATEDIF(Start Date, End Returns the number of years, months or days between two dates
Date, Unit)  Start Date – date furthest in the past
 Unit could be “Y” for years, “M” for months or “D” for days
 Units must be in double quotes
 This formula is NOT in the function library
YEAR =YEAR(Date)  Returns the year portion of date
 Example =YEAR(7/16/2005) would return 2005
MONTH =MONTH(Date)  Returns the month portion of date
 Example =MONTH(7/16/2005) would return 7
DAY =DAY(Date)  Returns the day portion of date
 Example =DAY(7/16/2005) would return 16
Use a time formula and get an answer you didn’t expect? If you got a date and were expecting a number, remember to
change the formatting from date to number. If you got a number and were expecting a date, change the formatting to
date.

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Excel Formulas Cheat
SheetFormulas
Logical
Formula Structure Explanation
IF =IF(Logical Test, TRUE,  Evaluates the statement in the logical test to determine if it is TRUE or
FALSE) FALSE
 A Logical test compares the value of one cell to another, or a
cell value to a constant value, using a comparison operator such
as:
o Equal  =
o Less than  <
o Greater than  >
o Less than or equal to  <=
o Greater than or equal to  >=
o Not equal to  <>
 TRUE – this part of the IF function will only execute when the logical test
is TRUE
 FALSE – this part of the IF function will only execute when the logical
test is FALSE
 Both TRUE and FALSE can be a word, a formula or a constant value
 To return a blank cell use two double quotes  “”
OR =OR(Logical Test 1, Logical  This formula can only return TRUE or FALSE
Test 2, ...)  Only one test in the group must return TRUE for the formula to return
TRUE
AND =AND(Logical Test 1,  This formula can only return TRUE or FALSE
Logical Test 2, ...)  Only one test in the group must return FALSE for the formula to return
FALSE

Lookup Formulas
Formula Structure Explanation

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Excel Formulas Cheat
Sheet
VLOOKUP =VLOOKUP (Lookup Value,
Table Array, Col Index,


Lookup Value - What the function is looking for in the table array
Table Array - The table defined as a cell range
Range Lookup)  Col Index - The column in the table that forms the return
 Range lookup - False for exact match, True or blank for near match
 Notes:
o A vlookup can only search vertically through the left most
column of a table array for near or exact matches
o In most cases you will want to use absolute cell
referencing when indicating a table array
o If you omit the Range Lookup, Excel will assume “True” and
look for a near match

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Excel Formulas Cheat
Sheet Formulas
Financial
Formula Structure Explanation
PMT = PMT(rate, nper, pv, [fv],  rate – Annual Percentage Rate
[type]) o Divide yearly rate by 12 months
o REQUIRED
 nper – number of periods
o How many months are in the loan? (12 months/year) * length
of loan in years = length of loan in months
o REQUIRED
 pv – present value
o amount of loan – this is the amount that was borrowed
o REQUIRED
 [fv] and [type] are in square brackets because they're optional
arguments.
o fv – future value - $0 if the loan is paid if full
 Excel assumes zero if omitted
o type –
 0 (zero) means the payments are due at the end of each
period,
 1 means they're due at the beginning
 Excel assumes your payments are due at the end of the
period if omitted

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Excel Formulas Cheat
Sheet Formulas
Statistical
Formula Structure Explanation
SUMIF = SUMIF(range,  SUMIF will return at total based on one criteria
criteria,  Range - Required. The range of cells that you want evaluated by
[sum_range]) criteria.
 Criteria - Required.
 The criteria in the form of a number, expression, a cell
reference, text, or a function that defines which cells will be
added.
 For example, criteria can be expressed as 32, ">32", B5, "32",
"apples", or TODAY().
 Important: Any text criteria or any criteria that includes logical or
mathematical symbols must be enclosed in double quotation marks
("). If the criteria is numeric, double quotation marks are not
required.
 Sum_Range Optional.
o The actual cells to add, if you want to add cells other
than those specified in the range argument.
o If the sum_range argument is omitted, Excel adds the cells
that are specified in the range argument (the same cells to
which the criteria is applied).
SUMIFS =SUMIFS(sum_range,  SUMIFS will return at total based on more than one criteria
criteria_range1,  Sum_Range - The range of cells to sum
criteria1,  Criteria_range1 – Required
[criteria_range2, o The range that is tested using Criteria1
criteria2], ...)
 Criteria1 – Required
o The first value tested for – this must be a match to be
included in the total
 Criteria_range2 – Optional
o The range that is tested using Criteria2
 Criteria2 – Optional
o The second value tested for – this must be a match to be
included in the total
 And so on…

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Excel Formulas Cheat
Sheet
Formula Structure Explanation
COUNTIF =COUNTIF(range, criteria)  Answers the question “How many of something (criteria) exist within
specific set
of cells (range)?
 =COUNTIF(Where do you want to look?, What do you want to look for?)
 Range – Required – Sets cells to be included in the count
 Criteria – Required – Tells formula what to look for
COUNTIFS =COUNTIFS(criteria_ran  criteria_range1 – Required.
ge1, criteria1, o The first range in which to evaluate the associated criteria.
[criteria_range2,  criteria1 – Required.
criteria2]…)
o The criteria in the form of a number, expression, cell
reference, or text that define which cells will be counted. For
example, criteria can be expressed as:
 32,
 ">32",
 B4,
 "apples", or
 "32"
 criteria_range2, criteria2, ...
o Optional.
o Additional ranges and their associated criteria. Up to 127
range/criteria pairs are allowed.
 Important:
o Each additional range must have the same number of
rows and columns as the criteria_range1
argument.
o The ranges do not have to be adjacent to each other

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Excel Formulas Cheat
Sheet
Formula Structure Explanation
AVERAGEIF =AVERAGEIF(range, criteria,  Returns the average (arithmetic mean) of all the cells in a range that
[average_range]) meet a
given criteria
 Range – Required.
o One or more cells to average, including numbers or names,
arrays, or references that contain numbers.
 Criteria – Required.
o The criteria in the form of a number, expression, cell
reference, or text that defines which cells are averaged. For
example, criteria can be expressed as:
 32,
 ">32",
 B4,
 "apples", or
 "32"
 Average_range – Optional.
o The actual set of cells to average.
o If omitted, range is used

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Excel Formulas Cheat
Sheet
Formula Structure Explanation
AVERAGEIF =  Returns the average (arithmetic mean) of all cells that meet multiple
S AVERAGEIFS(average_range, criteria
criteria_range1,  Average_range – Required
criteria1, o One or more cells to average, including numbers or names,
[criteria_range2, arrays, or references that contain numbers.
criteria2], ...)  Criteria_range1 – Required, subsequent criteria_ranges are optional
(up to 127 ranges)
 criteria_range2, criteria_range3,… – Optional
 Criteria1 – Required, subsequent criteria are optional
o Criteria can be in the form of a number, expression, cell
reference, or text that define which cells will be averaged. For
example, criteria can be expressed as:
 32,
 ">32",
 B4,
 "apples", or
 "32"
 criteria2, criteria3,...
 If you have a Criteria_Range, you must have a corresponding Criteria

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