Percentage of the Year in Excel

As we get used to the new year we may want to perform some calculations based on the old year. A recent inquiry requested a formula that could calculate the percentage of a year that an employee had been employed. He suggested using an IF function. See the solution below, but it doesn’t involve the IF function.

Selecting a Column Range within a Merged Cell in Excel [video]

I am not a fan of the merged cell format. It causes more problems that it solves. One issue you will face is trying to select a single column range within a range that has a merged cell. Here is how you handle it.

This post is a video post as it easier to show the problem and the solution in a video.

Adding up Text Numbers In Excel Another Technique

If you have a list of numbers that are a text numbers or a combination of text numbers with real numbers there is a technique I covered in this blog post to add them up. But if the range also contains text then the technique won’t work. There is the work around. The solutions below work in the subscription version of Excel. Check the comments section below for a solution for all versions.

Excel Variance Formula

IF function to the rescue

When calculating variances between actuals and budget, you typically have a positive value representing a favourable (good) variance and a negative value for an unfavourable (bad) variance. When looking at revenue and expenses together this poses a problem for the variance calculation. The calculation needs to be different for revenue and costs. Here’s a way to use a single formula for both.

Monitor Cells with Excel’s Watch Window

Don't wait, watch

When you are developing a file for a report, budget or forecast you may need to keep track of certain cells. They could be validations or profits or some other important value. The Watch Window can help you monitor multiple cells in one place.

In the Formulas tab in the Formula Auditing section is the Watch Window icon.

Clicking the icon opens the Watch Window. It will be blank.

You can click the Add Watch button to add a cell to monitor. You can chose cells from any sheet.

Click Add to watch the cell. You can widen the Watch Window and change column widths as well.

You can click the column headings to sort by the column.

You can also select a range to watch. but it will list the range as a series of cells – see images below.

When you save and close the file the watch entries are saved. When you open the file the Watch Window won’t be open, you will have to re-open it.

The shortcut Alt M W (pressed in sequence, not held down) will open the Watch Window. The same shortcut also closes the Watch Window.