This wikiHow teaches you how to subtract one cell from another in Excel.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Subtracting Cell Values
Step 1. Open Excel
The app is green with a white cross "X" inside.
If you want to open an existing Excel document, double-click the Excel document
Step 2. Click Blank workbook (PC) or Excel Workbook (Mac)
It's in the upper-left side of the "Templates" window.
Step 3. Enter data if necessary
To do this, click a cell and then type a number, and press Enter or Return.
Step 4. Click an empty cell
This step will select the cell.
Step 5. Type "=" in the cell
Don't follow the quotes. The "equals" sign is always used before entering formulas in Excel.
Step 6. Type the cell name
The name entered is the name of the original cell that you want to subtract from the value of another cell.
For example, type "C1" to select a number in the cell C1.
Step 7. Type - after
A "-" sign will appear after the cell name.
Step 8. Type another cell name
This cell is the cell containing the value that will subtract the first cell.
This process can be repeated for up to several cells (for example, "C1-A1-B2")
Step 9. Press Enter or Returns.
This step will calculate the formula entered into the cell and replace it with the resulting number.
You can click a cell to display the original formula on the text bar just above the worksheet row
Method 2 of 3: Subtract in Cells
Step 1. Open Excel
The app is green with a white cross "X" inside.
Step 2. Click Blank workbook (PC) or Excel Workbook (Mac)
It's in the upper-left side of the "Templates" window.
Step 3. Click a cell
Unless you want to create data using this worksheet, select any cell.
Step 4. Type "=" in the cell
Don't follow the quotes. Now cells can be entered in formulas.
Step 5. Enter the number you want to subtract
A number will appear to the right of the "equals" sign.
To calculate a budget, for example, type your monthly income into this cell
Step 6. Type - in the cell
A "-" sign will appear after the number.
If you want to subtract several numbers at once (for example, X-Y-Z), enter each number after the "-" sign until the last digit
Step 7. Enter a number to subtract the first number
If you are calculating a budget, enter the amount of expenses in it
Step 8. Press Enter or Returns.
This step will calculate the formula entered into the cell and replace it with the resulting number.
You can click a cell to display the original formula on the text bar just above the worksheet row
Method 3 of 3: Subtracting a Column
Step 1. Open Excel
The app is green with a white cross "X" in it.
If you want to open an existing Excel document, double-click the Excel document
Step 2. Click Blank workbook (PC) or Excel Workbook (Mac)
It's in the upper-left side of the "Templates" window.
Step 3. Click an empty cell
This step will select the cell.
Step 4. Enter the main numbers
This number will be subtracted by the entire contents of the column.
For example, enter your annual income here
Step 5. Enter each subtractor in the cell below it
To do this, type the subtracting number preceded by a negative sign (for example, if you want to subtract 300, type "-300").
- Type one subtraction for each cell.
- Make sure each number entered is in the same column as the main number.
- For the salary example, for example, type "-" followed by the amount of expenses in each cell.
Step 6. Click an empty cell
This time, the cells don't have to be in the same column as the leading numbers.
Step 7. Type "=" in the cell
Don't follow the quotes. Now cells can be entered in formulas.
Step 8. Type SUM in the cell
The "SUM" command will sum all cells.
This command is not really a "subtraction" command, which is why you must enter numbers in the negative form
Step 9. Type (CellName:CellName) after the SUM
This command will add up all the cells in the column from the first cell to the last cell.
For example, if K1 is the main number and the last cell in the column is K10, type "(K1:K10)".
Step 10. Press Enter or Returns.
This step will calculate the formula entered into the cell and replace it with the total.
