How to Use Excel SUM Function
Prologue
In this article, you’ll learn about the Excel SUM function. You can use this function to return the total value of a range or a group of numbers.
Use Cases of SUM Function
- This is used in budgeting calculations. You can find the total expenses and income.
- You can find the total sales value of a company and manually compare with others.
- This is applied to find the total scores of a student, and the student with the highest total score is the best student in the class.
- This function is really helpful in inventory management. You can check your stock status using this.
- You can also use this function to add up the total time spent on a project.
Formula
The following formula is the basic structure of the SUM function to find the total value.
=SUM(B3:B8)
Formula Validation
- You can manually add the values, 11+13+17+19+23+35 = 118.
- So, the formula is working as intended.
Visualize in Google Sheets
You can check the code in the following Google Sheet file. The structure is the same as in the Excel version.
Facts About Excel SUM Function
- This function automatically ignores text values in a range.
- You can also use the addition operator to achieve the same result. However, there are some situations where it will output errors:
- If you add or remove new columns or rows in that formula range.
- The addition operator throws errors for text values but the SUM function doesn’t.
- If your total value output cell is adjacent to the numbers and there is no gap among the numbers, then you can press ALT + = to use the AutoSum feature of Excel. For MacOS, you’ll need to press Command + Shift + T.
Epilogue
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Next Read
You can read the following articles to further strengthen your knowledge of Excel.
- How to Use Excel SUBTOTAL Function
- How to Use Excel SUMIF Function
- How to Use Excel SUMPRODUCT Function