GOOGLE SHEETS FORMULAS

Google Sheets formulas — the 8 you actually need

Long formula lists don't help when every formula you write breaks a week later. Most of the time the formula isn't the problem: the table is. Merged cells, totals in the middle of the data, months used as column headings, the same name typed three ways — and a simple question suddenly needs a long, fragile formula.

Fix the table first, and a short list of everyday formulas answers almost every question a small business or household asks: how much, how many, which ones, by when.

From the book: Budget vs actual: ① Budget from Settings ② Spent by SUMIFS ③ Status by IF — Delivery is over

What you'll be able to do

Spot the 5 warning signs of a spreadsheet that is working against you
Build tables that keep working as you add new rows every day
Split your work into Data, Settings and Report sheets so everyone knows where to type
Use SUMIFS, COUNTIF, IF, VLOOKUP, IFERROR, TODAY, TEXT and UNIQUE with real business examples
Build a complete income & expense system, step by step
Fix the 10 most common errors, from #N/A to totals that are quietly wrong

Free formula guides

Google Sheets: Flag Items That Are Late or Due Soon (With TODAY)Show "LATE" for overdue items and "Due soon" for anything due within a day. One formula that updates itself every day, step by step.

Free: which spreadsheet problem do you have?

A 6-page PDF: ten everyday Google Sheets problems and the short book that fixes each one.

Get the free overview

Also: Google Sheets for beginners — learn it by building one real sheet · A Google Sheets budget you'll still use in December