Adding up a column with SUM

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We want the total sales for the week in B9.

keyboard Typing formulas is easiest on a computer with a keyboard.

A1
ABC
1DaySales
2Monday431
3Tuesday81
4Wednesday375
5Thursday630
6Friday623
7Saturday237
8Sunday423
9Total
10
11
12
13
sales
total
Type to enter a value or a formula starting with =. F2 edits, F4 adds $ to a reference.
Study notes

How SUM works

  • What is a range?

    A range is a block of cells, written as the first cell, a colon, and the last cell. B2:B8 means B2 to B8: B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7 and B8.

  • What does SUM do?

    A function is a ready-made calculation with a name. SUM adds up every number in a range:

    =SUM(B2:B8)

  • Why not just use +?

    It's much shorter than =B2+B3+B4+B5+B6+B7+B8, and it works just as well for a thousand rows.

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