Using Subtotals Function in Microsoft Excel

Do you have a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet where you have firm names and figures? The spreadsheet might contain other types of data, but is similar to this example?

Imagine your boss comes to your desk and asks you to provide him/her with details of how much each firm earned in revenue on this spreadsheet. You think to yourself, how can I do this quickly, without much manual work?

Here are the 6 simple steps to using the subtotal function in Microsoft Excel:

1. Highlight the firm names and figures.

2. Click Data, then Sort, then sort by the firm name.

3. Highlight the firm names and figures again.

4. Click Data, then Subtotals, click OK.

5. Select "At each change in:" should be Firm1, "Use function:" should be Sum and "Add subtotal to:" should only have $100 .00 checked (in this example). You only need to have "Summary below data" checked if you don't currently have subtotals shown.

6. Now you have the total for each firm as well as the grand total listed.

If you need to do this for other functions, make sure to change the "Use function:" section to whatever type of calculation you need to do for your particular project.

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Until next time,

Take care - of your clutter!