ABSTRACT
Excel is a widely used software
application in industries today,
built to generate reports and
business insights. Excel
supports several in-built
applications that make it easier
to use.
Wai Lin Htet
Excel
EXCEL SPREADSHEET
Tr Wai Lin Htet
Table of Contents
Formulas in Excel ........................................................................................................................... 2
What is Excel Formula? .............................................................................................................. 2
Formulas in Excel: An Overview ................................................................................................. 2
1. SUM ..................................................................................................................................... 4
2. AVERAGE ........................................................................................................................... 5
3. COUNT ................................................................................................................................ 6
4. MODULUS ........................................................................................................................... 6
5. POWER ............................................................................................................................... 7
6. CEILING .............................................................................................................................. 8
7. FLOOR ................................................................................................................................ 9
8. LEN ...................................................................................................................................... 9
9. NOW() .................................................................................................................................. 9
10. TODAY() .......................................................................................................................... 10
11. TIME() .............................................................................................................................. 11
12. HOUR, MINUTE, SECOND ............................................................................................ 11
13. DATEDIF ......................................................................................................................... 12
14. VLOOKUP ....................................................................................................................... 12
15. HLOOKUP ....................................................................................................................... 14
16. IF Formula ....................................................................................................................... 15
17. COUNTIF ......................................................................................................................... 17
18. SUMIF .............................................................................................................................. 18
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Formulas in Excel
Microsoft Excel is the go-to tool for working with data. There are probably a
handful of people who haven’t used Excel, given its immense popularity. Excel is a
widely used software application in industries today, built to generate reports and
business insights. Excel supports several in-built applications that make it easier to
use.
One such feature that allows Excel to stand out is - Excel sheet formulas. Here, we will
look into the top Excel formulas that one must know while working on Excel. The topics
that we will be covering in this article are as follows:
• What is Excel Formula?
• Excel Formulas and Functions
What is Excel Formula?
In Microsoft Excel, a formula is an expression that operates on values in a range of
cells. These formulas return a result, even when it is an error. Excel formulas enable
you to perform calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In
addition to these, you can find out averages and calculate percentages in excel for a
range of cells, manipulate date and time values, and do a lot more.
Formulas in Excel: An Overview
• Choose a cell.
• To enter an equal sign, click the cell and type =.
• Enter the address of a cell in the selected cell or select a cell from the list.
• You need to enter an operator.
• Enter the address of the next cell in the selected cell.
• Press Enter.
There is another term that is very familiar to Excel formulas, and that is "function". The
two words, "formulas" and "functions" are sometimes interchangeable. They are closely
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related, but yet different. A formula begins with an equal sign. Meanwhile, functions are
used to perform complex calculations that cannot be done manually. Functions in excel
have names that reflect their intended use.
The example below shows how we have used the multiplication formula manually with
the ‘*’ operator.
Fig: Microsoft Excel Formula
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This example below shows how we have used the function - ‘PRODUCT’ to perform
multiplication. As you can see, we didn’t use the mathematical operator here.
Fig: Microsoft Excel Function
Excel formulas and functions help you perform your tasks efficiently, and it's time-
saving. Let's proceed and learn the different types of functions available in Excel and
use relevant formulas as and when required.
1. SUM
The SUM() function, as the name suggests, gives the total of the selected range of cell
values. It performs the mathematical operation which is addition. Here’s an example of it
below:
Fig: Sum function in Excel
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As you can see above, to find the total amount of sales for every unit, we had to simply
type in the function “=SUM(C2:C4)”. This automatically adds up 300, 385, and 480. The
result is stored in C5.
2. AVERAGE
The AVERAGE() function focuses on calculating the average of the selected range of
cell values. As seen from the below example, to find the avg of the total sales, you have
to simply type in “AVERAGE(C2, C3, C4)”.
Fig: Average function in Excel
It automatically calculates the average, and you can store the result in your desired
location.
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3. COUNT
The function COUNT() counts the total number of cells in a range that contains a
number. It does not include the cell, which is blank, and the ones that hold data in any
other format apart from numeric.
Fig: Microsoft Excel Function - Count
If you are required to count all the cells with numerical values, text, and any other data
format, you must use the function ‘COUNTA()’. However, COUNTA() does not count
any blank cells.
To count the number of blank cells present in a range of cells, COUNTBLANK() is
used.
4. MODULUS
The MOD() function works on returning the remainder when a particular number is
divided by a divisor. Let’s now have a look at the examples below for better
understanding.
• In the first example, we have divided 10 by 3. The remainder is calculated
using the function “=MOD(A2,3)”. The result is stored in B2. We can also
directly type “=MOD(10,3)” as it will give the same answer.
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Fig: Modulus function in Excel
• Similarly, here, we have divided 12 by 4. The remainder is 0 is, which is stored
in B3.
Fig: Modulus function in Excel
5. POWER
The function “Power()” returns the result of a number raised to a certain power. Let’s
have a look at the examples shown below:
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Fig: Power function in Excel
As you can see above, to find the power of 10 stored in A2 raised to 3, we have to type
“= POWER (A2,3)”. This is how power function works in Excel.
6. CEILING
Next, we have the ceiling function. The CEILING() function rounds a number up to its
nearest multiple of significance.
Fig: Ceiling function in Excel
The nearest highest multiple of 5 for 35.316 is 40.
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7. FLOOR
Contrary to the Ceiling function, the floor function rounds a number down to the nearest
multiple of significance.
Fig: Floor function in Excel
The nearest lowest multiple of 5 for 35.316 is 35.
8. LEN
The function LEN() returns the total number of characters in a string. So, it will count the
overall characters, including spaces and special characters. Given below is an example
of the Len function.
Fig: Len function in Excel
9. NOW()
The NOW() function in Excel gives the current system date and time.
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Fig: Now function in Excel
The result of the NOW() function will change based on your system date and time.
10. TODAY()
The TODAY() function in Excel provides the current system date.
Fig: Today function in Excel
The function DAY() is used to return the day of the month. It will be a number between 1
to 31. 1 is the first day of the month, 31 is the last day of the month.
Fig: Day function in Excel
The MONTH() function returns the month, a number from 1 to 12, where 1 is January
and 12 is December.
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Fig: Month function in Excel
The YEAR() function, as the name suggests, returns the year from a date value.
Fig: Year function in Excel
11. TIME()
The TIME() function converts hours, minutes, seconds given as numbers to an Excel
serial number, formatted with a time format.
Fig: Time function in Excel
12. HOUR, MINUTE, SECOND
The HOUR() function generates the hour from a time value as a number from 0 to 23.
Here, 0 means 12 AM and 23 is 11 PM.
Fig: Hour function in Excel
The function MINUTE(), returns the minute from a time value as a number from 0 to 59.
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Fig: Minute function in Excel
The SECOND() function returns the second from a time value as a number from 0 to 59.
Fig: Second function in Excel
13. DATEDIF
The DATEDIF() function provides the difference between two dates in terms of years,
months, or days.
Below is an example of a DATEDIF function where we calculate the current age of a
person based on two given dates, the date of birth and today’s date.
Fig: Datedif function in Excel
14. VLOOKUP
Next up in this article is the VLOOKUP() function. This stands for the vertical lookup that
is responsible for looking for a particular value in the leftmost column of a table. It then
returns a value in the same row from a column you specify.
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Below are the arguments for the VLOOKUP function:
lookup_value - This is the value that you have to look for in the first column of a table.
table - This indicates the table from which the value is retrieved.
col_index - The column in the table from the value is to be retrieved.
range_lookup - [optional] TRUE = approximate match (default). FALSE = exact match.
We will use the below table to learn how the VLOOKUP function works.
If you wanted to find the department to which Stuart belongs, you could use the
VLOOKUP function as shown below:
Fig: Vlookup function in Excel
Here, A11 cell has the lookup value, A2: E7 is the table array, 3 is the column index
number with information about departments, and 0 is the range lookup.
If you hit enter, it will return “Marketing”, indicating that Stuart is from the marketing
department.
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15. HLOOKUP
Similar to VLOOKUP, we have another function called HLOOKUP() or horizontal
lookup. The function HLOOKUP looks for a value in the top row of a table or array of
benefits. It gives the value in the same column from a row you specify.
Below are the arguments for the HLOOKUP function:
• lookup_value - This indicates the value to lookup.
• table - This is the table from which you have to retrieve data.
• row_index - This is the row number from which to retrieve data.
• range_lookup - [optional] This is a boolean to indicate an exact match or
approximate match. The default value is TRUE, meaning an approximate
match.
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Given the below table, let’s see how you can find the city of Jenson using HLOOKUP.
Fig: Hlookup function in Excel
Here, H23 has the lookup value, i.e., Jenson, G1:M5 is the table array, 4 is the row
index number, 0 is for an approximate match.
Once you hit enter, it will return “New York”.
16. IF Formula
The IF() function checks a given condition and returns a particular value if it is TRUE. It
will return another value if the condition is FALSE.
In the below example, we want to check if the value in cell A2 is greater than 5. If it’s
greater than 5, the function will return “Yes 4 is greater”, else it will return “No”.
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Fig: If function in Excel
In this case, it will return ‘No’ since 4 is not greater than 5.
‘IFERROR’ is another function that is popularly used. This function returns a value if an
expression evaluates to an error, or else it will return the value of the expression.
Suppose you want to divide 10 by 0. This is an invalid expression, as you can’t divide a
number by zero. It will result in an error.
The above function will return “Cannot divide”.
The INDEX-MATCH function is used to return a value in a column to the left. With
VLOOKUP, you're stuck returning an appraisal from a column to the right. Another
reason to use index-match instead of VLOOKUP is that VLOOKUP needs more
processing power from Excel. This is because it needs to evaluate the entire table array
which you've selected. With INDEX-MATCH, Excel only has to consider the lookup
column and the return column.
Using the below table, let’s see how you can find the city where Jenson resides.
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Fig: Index-Match function in Excel
17. COUNTIF
The function COUNTIF() is used to count the total number of cells within a range that
meet the given condition.
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Fig: Countif function in Excel
The COUNTIFS function counts the number of cells specified by a given set of
conditions.
18. SUMIF
The SUMIF() function adds the cells specified by a given condition or criteria.
Fig: Sumif function in Excel
The SUMIFS() function adds the cells specified by a given set of conditions or
criteria.Let’s find the total cases in France on those days when the deaths have been
less than 100.
Excel is a really powerful spreadsheet application for data analysis and reporting. After
reading this article, you would have learned the important Excel formulas and functions
that will help you perform your tasks better and faster. We looked at numeric, text, data-
time, and advanced Excel formulas and functions. Needless to say, Excel knowledge
goes a long way in shaping many careers.
Do you have any questions related to this article on Excel Formulas?
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