Excel can automatically do calculations for you, using Formulas. Using our example sales spreadsheet, we can write a short formula to find the value of each order. The correct answer will always be produced, even if the price or number of units sold change. In this example, the order value is the number of units sold, multiplied by the selling cost. Typing the “=” symbol tells Excel we want to perform a calculation. Then type the name of the first cell you want to multiply, followed by “*” and then the name of the second cell you want to multiply. For our example, to calculate the order value for Amanda, click on cell F5 and type =C5*D5. Excel will highlight each cell you type with a different colour, to help you see which cells you’re multiplying.
Press Return or Enter, then cell F5 will contain the answer to the calculation, “contents of cell C5 multiplied by the contents of cell D5”. In our example, the answer is £680. If Amanda sells another two units, we can change the contents of cell C5 to 7, and Excel will automatically recalculate the new order value (£952).
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