vlookup vs sum

[Bronwen]

I'm trying to adapt a spreadsheet set-up by someone else for my own use. They
use VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP throughout the doc. The cells pull off of other tabs
in the worksheet. I would rather use the SUM function and click on the cells
I want from other tabs. Would that be just as effective? If not, why is
VLOOKUP better to use? We are using it to calculate company turnover numbers.

 

[Shane Devenshire]

Hi,

These two functions don't serve the same purpose, they are not
interchangeable. Suppose the entriy that you want returned from the other
sheet changes. Then if you are using SUM you will need to reenter it or edit
it. If VLOOKUP is correctly used it means the formula will be more dynamic
and flexible and you won't need to modify it. Also, if you are simply
referencing 1 cell, SUM is not the correct approach, just type = and click on
the cell in the other sheet.

 

[T. Valko]

they are not interchangeable.

...........A..........B
1......Tom.......15
2......Sue........21
3......Lisa.......17
4......Bill.........20

=VLOOKUP("Lisa",A1:B4,2,0)
=SUMIF(A1:A4,"Lisa",B1:B4)

When the lookup_value is unique and the value to be returned is numeric they
are interchangeable. And, in this application SUMIF is more efficient.