SUM function is one of the most used functions in MS Excel. This formula not only adds user define values in a cell but also adds values from different cells. It is used in Excel 2013, 2010, 2007 and other versions of excel with same syntax. Here are few examples to illustrate SUM formula in Excel. We will discuss Excel Subtract, Multiply and Divide at the end of this lesson with examples.

Formula: =SUM(5, 5) or =SUM(A1, B1) or =SUM(A1:B5)

The SUM formula does exactly what you would expect. It allows you to add 2 or more numbers together. You can use cell references as well in this formula. The above shows you different examples. You can have numbers in there separated by commas and it will add them together for you, you can have cell references and as long as there are numbers in those cells it will add them together for you, or you can have a range of cells with a colon in between the 2 cells, and it will add the numbers in all the cells in the range.

Extra Tips:

• If blank cells are added, those will be treated as zero
• If text cell is added that will also treated as zero
• While using SUM with a series of cells, check for the hidden columns or rows to prevent mistakes

We would not be adding Subtract, multiply and division formula as a separate lesson because all these work like SUM function. The only thing changes is the used mathematical signs:

Subtract Example:

=A2-A1

Output: 2

Multiply Example:

=A1*A2

Output: 48

Divide Example:

=A1/A3

Output: 3