So, to perform this calculation in Excel, we need to divide the amount of the expense in column C by the percentage that expense represents in column D like this: In the example, the active cell E6, copied down, is: Excel simply divides the value in cell C6 by the percentage value in cell D6: The result is the number 1945 , which is the total of all expenses in this case. As the formula is copied down the table, the result is the same at each new row, since total for all expenses remains the same. The formula in cell C15 uses the SUM function to check the results in column E:
Formatting percentages in Excel
In mathematics, a percentage is a number expressed as a fraction of 100. For example, 85% is read as “Eighty-five percent” and is equivalent to 85/100 or 0.85. Accordingly, the values in column D are decimal values. For example, D6 is approximately 0.36, D7 is approximately 0.18, etc. To format a number like this as a percentage with the percent sign (%), apply the Percentage number format.
Dave Bruns
Hi - I’m Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.
