HELP!!! I give up!!! Help with formula

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joe S.
  • Start date Start date
J

Joe S.

I am building a house, acting as my own general contractor. I am setting up
an Excel spreadsheet to track actual cost versus estimate so I'll know when
I'm running out of money.

I need to set up the spreadsheet with each cost item -- grading, fill,
footers, framing lumber, shingles, etc., etc. I then need to put an entry
for ESTIMATE, ACTUAL, DIFFERENCE. The DIFFERENCE column should conform to
these rules:
-- If ESTIMATE and ACTUAL are equal, nothing should appear in the DIFFERENCE
cell.
-- If ESTIMATE is greater than ACTUAL (that is, if I budgeted more than it
cost), then a positive dollar figure should show in DIFFERENCE.
-- If ESTIMATE is less than ACTUAL (if it cost more than I estimated), then
a negative number should appear in the DIFFERENCE cell (in parens on the
printout, in red on the screen).

For example:
Item Estimate Actual Difference
Fill $500 $475 $25
Form labor $800 $1,000 -$200
Plans $1,200 $1,200
(At this point I will show a total difference of -$175, thus, I will know
that I am $175 over budget.

I can't figure out the formula for the DIFFERENCE cells -- can someone help?

Thanks in advance.
 
If
A2 is Fill
B2 is Estimate
C2 is Actual
Then
D2 (the difference) =B2-C2

Does that help?

Ron
 
Also,click Format/Cells and select custom for a variety of ways to display
the numbers (negative numbers in parentheses, red, etc).
 
hi,

the differnce can be obtained as "Estimate" cell - the "Actual" cell. For
ex, if you have actual in cell B2 and actual in C2, then the differnce is
"B2-C2". For hiding zeros, go to "tools" in the toolbar, then to "options"
and in the "view" tab, uncheck "zero values".

Hope this helps.

Ravi
 
Hi Joe S,

Another Way is, if you have the ITEM in Cell A1, ESTIMATE in Cell B1,
ACTUAL in Cell C1 & DIFFERENCE in Cell D1, then in Cell D2 Enter the
Formula :-
=IF(B2-C2<>0,B2-C2,"")

Hope this Helps.
All the Best.
Paul
 
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