Adding and Subtracting in a Cell

Now the most common task of all: adding and subtracting. Use + to add and - to subtract, typed right between numbers or cells.

To add, put a + between numbers after the equals. The formula below shows 30. You can chain more too, like =10+10+10, with no limit.

Subtraction uses -. The formula below shows 40. Order matters: =10-50 gives -40, and negative results are perfectly normal.

Point at cells instead of typing numbers. If A1 is 100 and A2 is 25, the formula below shows 125, and it updates whenever those cells change.

Subtraction works the same with references. If B1 is your target (500) and B2 is actual sales (420), =B1-B2 shows how far off you are: 80.

You can mix typed numbers and references freely. If A1 is a price of 90 and you add a flat 10 shipping fee, the formula below shows 100.

Combine adding and subtracting in one formula, read left to right. With cash 200, income 150, and expense 80, the formula below gives 270.

Track money across a week: start 500, received 120, spent 200. Type the formula below in B4 to get your end-of-week cash: 420.

Spaces around operators don't matter: =A1+A2 and =A1 + A2 give the same answer. Add spaces if they make long formulas easier to read.

Addition only works on numbers. If a cell holds text like the word "twenty," you'll get a #VALUE! error. Check that every cell holds a number.

Negative results are useful! A formula like =income-expenses showing a negative number tells you that you overspent. If A1 is 300 and A2 is 450, you get -150.

Test your understanding of adding and subtracting.

Recap: use + to add and - to subtract after the equals. You can chain them, mix numbers and cells, and negatives are fine. Watch for #VALUE! on text.