How to Use Excel 2003 Formulas Functions for Budgets

1. Decide which formula you want to use. For example, you may want to add a column of data or multiply certain budgetary numbers by 12 to convert from a monthly to yearly budget.
2. Locate the formula you need in the 'Microsoft: Excel Commonly Used Formulas' (see Resources). For example, click on 'Add Numbers' in the Math subsection. One of the functions you can use is the 'Sum' function, which adds numbers in a single cell or multiple cells.
3. Enter the formula into the cell where you would like the answer to appear. For example, you may want to add a list of budget items in cells B2 to B10 and display the result in cell B11. All formulas begin with an equals sign ('='), so type the following text into cell B11:=SUM(B2:B10)The colon means 'to' as in 'Cells B2 to B10 inclusive.'
4. Use a function instead of a formula to perform calculations. For example, you can use the autosum function in Excel instead of specifying a formula. To use the autosum function, click on the cell where you would like the total to appear (in the above example, that was cell B10). Then click the autosum symbol on the standard toolbar. The autosum symbol is an uppercase sigma. Click on the cells you would like to sum (for example, B2 through B10). The autosum function will place your result in cell B10.