How To Use The SUMIF Function in Microsoft Excel
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Almost everyone has encountered the SUM function. It is one of the most widely used functions within Microsoft Excel 2007. And most Excel users will also have encountered the IF function. The SUMIF function is a combination of SUM and If which allows us to calculate the total of all cells within a given range that match a certain condition.
For example, let’s say that, in a “Sales” worksheet, we have a breakdown of the sales of each individual salesperson. We then want to create a summary of these figures in a “Branches” worksheet in which we want to create a total sales figure for each branch; so our “Branches” worksheet would have two columns: “Branch” and “Total Sales”. We can use the SUMIF function to calculate the figures in the “Total Sales” column.
A good place to begin would be to create named cells so that we can refer to these names in our formula. To name a range of cells we begin by selecting the range then we click on the name box in the top left of the worksheet, enter the name then press the Enter key.
Having inserted the names of all the branches in the first column of our “Branches” worksheet, we would highlight the first cell in the “Total Sales” column, adjacent to the cell containing the name of our first branch; let’s say, for example, our first branch is “Birmingham”. When using functions for the first time, it’s useful to use Excel’s Insert Function facility. To access this, click on the Insert Function button on left of the formula bar. The SUMIF function is in the “Math and Trig” category. Scroll down the list, highlight SUMIF and then click OK. Excel now prompts us for the three arguments required by the SUMIF function.
The first argument is the range of cells that we want to evaluate. In our branch sales example it would be the column containing the name of the branch. If we have named this column, we can insert this name by clicking on “Use In Formula” in the Formulas Tab at the Excel Ribbon. This is a drop-down menu containing all the names in the workbook.
The second argument is the criteria that we want to match. This is simply the contents of the cell in the adjacent “Branch” column, which in this case contains “Birmingham”. We can click on the cell to pick up the reference.
The final argument is that SUM range and, in this case, it will be the column that contains the cells that we want to actually total; namely, the sales figures. Again, if we have named this column, we would click on “Use In Formula” and choose the name that we created earlier. Having specified the three arguments we click OK and Excel creates the formula.
It’s now safer is to copy the formula down. The cell reference of the adjacent column containing the branch name will change but the two named ranges will remain the same. To copy the formula down, simply position the cursor on the AutoFill handle in the bottom right of the cell and then either drag or simply double-click.
The author is a trainer and developer with TrainingCompany.Com, an independent IT training company offering Microsoft Excel training in London and throughout the UK.
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