MICROSOFT EXCEL 
BASICS: 
 

Functions I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Heather C. Young 
2013 
 
INTRO TO FUNCTIONS 2 
TODAY() 3 
RAND() 3 
SUM() 3 
COUNT() 4 
AVERAGE() 4 
MAX() 4 
MIN() 5 
ROUND() 5 
Nesting functions 6 
A couple of handy text functions 6 
LOWER() 7 
UPPER() 7 
PROPER() 7 
CONCATENATE() 7 
Other Excel Functions 7 
Practise basic functions: RAND(), SUM(),COUNT(), AVERAGE(), MIN(), MAX() 8 
Practise more advanced functions: ROUND(),nesting functions 10 

Heather C. Young Microsoft Excel Basics Page 2

INTRO TO FUNCTIONS 
 
Excel contains hundreds of functions – preset formulas designed to help users get results quickly. 
We will look at a few of the most helpful for financial work with small organizations. Detailed 
explanations of functions, along with examples demonstrating how to construct them, are available 
in Help. Just hit the F1 key and search the index. My explanations are deliberately brief, with the 
intention that you will use them as the starting point for your research and experimentation.  
 
Definitions from Excel Help: 
Functions​ are predefined formulas that perform calculations by using specific values, called 
arguments, in a particular order, or structure. For example, the SUM function adds values or ranges 
of cells, and the PMT function calculates the loan payments based on an interest rate, the length of 
the loan, and the principal amount of the loan. 
Arguments​ can be numbers, text, logical values such as TRUE or FALSE, a ​ rrays​, error values such as 
#N/A, or c​ ell references​. The argument you designate must produce a valid value for that argument. 
Arguments can also be ​constants​, formulas, or other functions.  

TODAY() 
- Just for fun! 
- Returns today’s date 
- An example of a function with NO arguments (i.e. the parentheses remain empty): you don’t 
need to tell Excel what cells to work on; it knows what to do based on the name of the 
function 
 

RAND() 
- Random number generator 
- Another function with NO arguments: again, you don’t need to identify what cells it will use: 
Excel will just generate a random number between 0 and 1, to 15 decimal places 
- USE → rapidly generating lots of numbers on which you can practise other functions ☺ 
- It’s pretty rare that you will need a number between 0 and 1! However, you can use RAND() 
to generate random WHOLE numbers by multiplying the result 
o For instance =RAND()*100 will multiply your random number by 100 and yield a 
result in the ​tens 
o Likewise =RAND()*1000 will multiply by 1000 and yield a result in the h
​ undreds 
- The random number generator changes its results every time you perform another action. 
You can keep numbers by value-copying them (i.e. replacing the formula with the result). 
Highlight the cell(s) you want to value-copy. From the Edit menu choose Copy. A moving 
border appears round the cell(s). Open the Edit menu again and choose Paste Special. In the 
Paste Special dialog box, select Values and OK. 
  

SUM() 
- Adds the numbers you identify 
o You can fill the parentheses with numbers or with cell references 
o Probably the most typical use would be on a series of cells, e.g. in a budget or 
financial report 
- You can type the function in “longhand,” or use the Sigma button (Greek capital E) 
- Sigma automatically adds an unbroken column of numbers above it OR an unbroken row of 
numbers to its left 

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 - =SUM(A1:A15) – adds numbers in ​column​ A from cell A1 to cell A15 inclusive 
- =SUM(A1:E1) – adds numbers in r​ ow​ 1 from cell A1 to cell E1 inclusive 
- =SUM(A1:B10) – adds numbers in a b ​ lock​ where the top left corner is cell A1 and the bottom 
right corner is cell B10 
- the colon indicates an unbroken series of cells (“add everything between this start-point and 
this end-point, inclusive”) 
- you can specify a group of non-continuous cells by listing them, separated by commas 
- =SUM(A15,A20,B10) will add the contents of these three cells 
- you can also specify a group of numbers 
- =SUM(2,3,7) will yield a value of 12 
 

COUNT() 
- Counts how many cells in the block you identify are occupied by n ​ umeric​ content 
- Does not count cells occupied by text. Be sure to try it repeatedly using numbers, text and a 
combination of numbers and text so you understand how this function works. 
- Same types of arguments as for SUM() → Try each type of argument (row, column, block 
using numbers, text and cell references).  
- To get you started: 
- =COUNT(A1:B10) – counts the number of cells containing numbers in the block where the 
top left corner is cell A1 and the bottom right corner is cell B10 
- =COUNT(A15,A20,B10) returns a value of 3, provided each of these cells contains a number 
- =COUNT(2,2) returns a value of 2 → this argument contains 2 numbers 
- =COUNT(2,”two”) returns a value of 1 → this argument contains 1 number; text doesn’t count 
 
Variations on the theme: 
- COUNTA() will count all occupied cells; i.e. every cell that’s not blank. If you were using Excel 
to track your donors, you could use COUNTA() at the foot of a list of names (text content) 
and it would tell you how many donors were in the list 
o Easy way to recall this may be that COUNTA refers to text, i.e. add the “A”, first letter 
of the alphabet, to denote a function that works with content beyond numbers 
- COUNTBLANK() will count all the blank cells in the range you define 
 

AVERAGE() 
- Averages the block of numbers you identify 
- THAT IS – it takes the SUM of the numbers, and divides by the COUNT of the numbers 
o So, you could also work this out as SUM() / COUNT() 
- See the example arguments given for SUM() and COUNT() → The same things work for 
average – try them out! 
- Could be useful for reporting, e.g. where you’re presenting results from (say) a concert 
series, and you also show the average result 
- Could be useful for forward planning, e.g. where you know what the last 3 years yielded, and 
you decide that next year will be the average of that experience plus 5% 
o =AVERAGE(a, b, c) * 1.05 
 

MAX() 
- I.E. Maximum 
- Returns the highest numeric value from the block of cells you identify 
- Same types of arguments as for SUM() and COUNT() → Try each type of argument. 

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 - Could be useful for reporting, e.g. where you’re presenting results from (say) a concert 
series, and you also pick out the best result 
- Could be useful for analysing a list, say, of donors/donations: how much did our largest giver 
contribute? 
 

MIN() 
- I.E. Minimum 
- Returns the lowest numeric value from the block of cells you identify 
- Same types of arguments as for SUM() and COUNT() → Try each type of argument. 
- Same types of uses as MAX() 
 

ROUND() 
- Forces a value to be rounded to the number of decimal places you specify 
- This is DIFFERENT from formatting the cell, which “masks” the number of decimal places, but 
does not change the value of the number 
- If I calculate 8/3 the result is 2.6666666666 (etc. – “repeater” decimal fraction) 
- If I put that calculation in a cell and format the cell for dollars, Excel will mask the number, 
and show the result as $2.67. However, the number in the cell continues to be that 
“repeater” fraction. 
- In the example below, I value-copied the formula =8/3 and formatted the cell for dollars: 
 

 
 
- If I use ROUND() I can force the result to actually ​be​ 2.67, which is ​a different number​. 
 

 
 
- ROUND() uses 2 arguments separated by a comma, as follows: 
- =ROUND ( ​thing to be rounded​ , n
​ umber of decimal places​ ) 
- the “number of decimal places” can be a positive or a negative number or zero 
o positive numbers round to the right of the decimal place  
o zero rounds to a whole number 
o negative numbers round to the left of the decimal place (e.g. -1 rounds to the tens, -2 
rounds to the hundreds, -3 rounds to the thousands, and so on) 
o see following table for examples: 

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Thing to be rounded  Number of decimal places  Result 
9,876.54321  3  9,876.543 
9,876.54321  2  9,876.54 
9,876.54321  1  9,876.5 
9,876.54321  0  9,877 
9,876.54321  -1  9,880 
9,876.54321  -2  9,900 
9,876.54321  -3  10,000 
 
- the “thing to be rounded” can be a number 
o =ROUND(5.76,1) yields 5.8 – that is, it rounds the number 5.76 to 1 decimal place 
- the “thing to be rounded” can be a formula 
o =ROUND((5.76*13.9),2) multiplies the 2 numbers and rounds the result to 2 places 
o =ROUND((A1*5.25),0) multiplies whatever is in cell A1 by 5.25 and rounds the result 
to a whole number 
o note the use of nested parentheses – the formula can be enclosed in its own set of 
parentheses within ROUND() 
- rounding can be very important in budgeting, in cases where you require specific result 
 
Variations on the theme: 
- ROUNDUP() will always round up to the next value, using the number of decimal places you 
specify.  
o If you use ROUND(2.1,0) Excel will round to the whole number 2.  
o If you use ROUNDUP(2.1,0) Excel will round up to the next whole number, 3.  
o This can be very handy in budgeting. You can use Excel to calculate what you think 
you’ll spend on a certain item, and force it to round up to the next hundred (or 
whatever) to create a little “slack” in your plans. 
- ROUNDDOWN() works in exactly the same way: it forces the number or calculation to round 
down to the next value, using the number of decimal places you specify.  
 

Nesting functions 
 
Let’s use ROUND() as an example. 
- the thing to be rounded can be another function 
o =ROUND(((sum(A1:A5)),-1) adds the series of numbers A1:A5 and rounds the result to 
the nearest 10 
o =ROUND(((average(B10:B15)),-3) averages the series of numbers and rounds the 
result to the nearest 1000 
o note the use of two sets of nested parentheses – the SUM() function has its own set 
of parentheses, a​ nd​ the argument within the SUM() function also has parentheses  
 
 

A couple of handy text functions 

 
You probably wouldn’t choose Excel for creating a text document – but your spreadsheets will often 
incorporate text. Excel incorporates a number of functions that help you to manipulate text. 
 

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LOWER() 
- Converts text to all lower case 
- The argument can BE the text that you want to convert; if this is the case, enclose it in double 
quotes, as in =LOWER(“TITLE OF DOCUMENT”) 
o When you use double-quotes in an argument, Excel understands you to be referring 
to text rather than numbers 
- The argument can also be a cell reference; so, the upper-case text exists in your sheet, and 
you use the LOWER() function to convert it in a different cell 
o Why would you do this? Here’s a convenient trick: if you don’t like the upper-case 
text, use LOWER() to convert it, then value-paste the result over the offending 
upper-case 
 

UPPER() 
- Converts text to all upper case 
- Same process as for lower 
 

PROPER() 
- This one may be the winner of the three in terms of document titles: it capitalizes the first 
letter of each word and puts the rest of the text in lower case 
- Note that we might often capitalize the “substantive” words and leave prepositions, articles, 
etc., in lower case: Excel doesn’t make this distinction 
 

CONCATENATE() 
- Puts two text strings together in one cell 
- Very handy for list management! Say I’ve got one field for firstname and a second for 
lastname, but I really wish they were together as a proper name. I actually want to 
concatenate THREE things: the contents of firstname, a space, then the contents of 
lastname. Let’s say my firstname field is in column A and lastname in column B: 
o =CONCATENATE(A1,” “,B1) 
o The double-quotes with a single space in between will add my space character 
o When you use double-quotes in an argument, Excel understands you to be referring 
to text rather than numbers 
 

Other Excel Functions 

 
On the Ribbon, click on the Formulas tab. You can access lists of Excel functions categorized under 
the following headings: 
- Financial 
- Logical 
- Text 
- Date & time 
- Lookup & reference 
- Math & trig 
- More 
 

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Obviously, we are only scratching the surface of the features Excel can offer. Based on your 
introduction to functions and arguments, and how to use them alone or nested, you have a skills 
base from which to explore other features of the program. 
 
One amplification of an earlier comment: there are spreadsheet functions for subtraction, 
multiplication and division – but in most common situations, I would say that it’s more convenient 
just to type the formulas. Let’s return to the examples used earlier: 
 
Subtraction: 
● Earlier example: type “=525-25” and hit Enter 
● Function → SUM() 
● To set this up using a function, just use the addition function but with a negative sign in the 
arguments. The above would correspond to “=SUM(525,-25)” 
● This also works with cell references. If I wanted to subtract the contents of D2 from the 
contents of D1, I would type “=SUM(D1,-D2) 
 
Multiplication: 
● Earlier example: type “=1000*18” and hit Enter 
● Function → PRODUCT() 
● This multiplies all of the numbers/cell reference given as arguments and returns the 
product. 
● To set this multiplication up using this function, you would type “=PRODUCT(1000,18)” 
 
Division 
● Earlier example: type “=96/3” and hit Enter 
● Function → QUOTIENT() 
● This requires two arguments: QUOTIENT(numerator,denominator) 
o To set up the division about using this function, you would type “=QUOTIENT(96,3)” 
● It performs the division and returns the quotient, but as a ​whole number​: that is, Excel 
discards any remainder. This function is intended for use in situations where you want to 
round to a whole number. If you want the unrounded result, do not use the function; just 
use the “/” character in a formula. 
 
 

Practise basic functions: RAND(), SUM(),COUNT(), AVERAGE(), MIN(), 

MAX() 
 
You have worked through SUM() in a fair bit of detail. COUNT(), AVERAGE(), MIN() and MAX() all have 
the same structure, in terms of the arguments that can be contained within the parentheses. You 
can use a series of cell references (e.g. A1:A10) or a list of non-continuous cell references (e.g. 
A1,A3,B6,C6,D10) or plain numbers. RAND() is a function that does not require arguments. Refer to 
the Excel notes or use F1 to get more information. 
 
1. Generate a column of random numbers in cells A1 to A10. Do this by typing “=RAND()” in cell 
A1. Copy and paste in cells A2 through A10. The function RAND() automatically generates 
random numbers between 0 and 1 to 15 decimal places. 
 
2. Move over 2 columns. Now generate a column of random numbers to the tens. Do this by 
typing “=RAND()*100” in cell C1. Copy and paste in cells C2 through C10. Note that most of 
your random numbers will be between 10 and 99. Multiplying by 100 had the effect of 
shifting the decimal two places to the right. Some numbers may be between 1 and 10. These 

Heather C. Young Microsoft Excel Basics Page 8

 would have started with a zero after the decimal place. If you multiply .35 by 100, you get 35. 
If you multiply .035 by 100, you get 3.5 
 
3. Move over 2 columns. In cells E1 through E10, generate a column of random numbers to the 
hundreds. 
 
4. Move over 2 columns. In cells G1 through G10, generate a column of random numbers to 
the thousands. 
 
5. Move over 2 columns. In cells I1 through I10, generate a column of random numbers to the 
ones. 
 
6. Note that as you perform new operations, the random numbers constantly recalculate. To 
stop them from doing this, value-copy them. Select cells A1 through A10. From the Edit 
menu, choose Copy. From the Edit menu, choose Paste Special. In the dialog box, choose 
Values and click on OK. Read the contents of these cells. The function “=RAND()” has been 
replaced by the last random number Excel calculated. Repeat this operation for the rest of 
the random numbers you’ve created. 
 
7. Go to cell A11. Take the sum of the column using SUM(); type the formula in longhand. 
 
8. Move over 2 columns. Take the sum using SUM(); use the sigma button. 
 
9. Move over 2 columns. Count how many numbers are in the column using COUNT(). 
 
10. Move over 2 columns. Average this column using AVERAGE(). 
 
11. Move over 2 columns. Average this column using a combination of COUNT() and SUM(). 
 
12. Move over 2 columns. Generate a column of 10 random numbers to the tens. Identify the 
highest value using MAX(). 
 
13. Move over 2 columns. Generate a column of 10 random numbers to the hundreds. Identify 
the lowest value using MIN(). 
 
14. Now go to an empty cell and use SUM() to add all numbers from cell A1 to M10. 
 
15. In another empty cell, use COUNT() to determine how many cells you have used in the 
worksheet. (COUNT() will tally only numeric content; it overlooks cells occupied by text.) 
 
16. In another empty cell, take the average of all the numbers from cell A1 to G5. 
 
17. In another empty cell, use MAX() to find the highest number generated so far on the 
worksheet. 
 
18. In another empty cell, use MIN() to find the lowest number generated so far. 
 
19. Take the average of the maximum and minimum numbers. 
 
20. Use the COUNT() function to count the number of columns in Excel. (Hint: COUNT() can only 
count numbers. If you’re counting across one row, you’ll need to have a number in every cell 
on that row. You might check out the Edit menu for a command that can help.) 
 

Heather C. Young Microsoft Excel Basics Page 9

 21. Go back to the beginning and start again on a fresh worksheet. Try to work more quickly and 
smoothly the second time round. Refer back to the instructional notes on the various 
keyboard and mouse methods for adding. If you tend to use the mouse, practise the 
keyboard alternatives and vice versa. 

Practise more advanced functions: ROUND(),nesting functions 

 
1. Generate a column of random numbers to the hundreds in cells A1 to A10. Take the sum of 
them using SUM(); round to a whole number using ROUND().The SUM() function must be 
nested inside ROUND(), here and in all following exercises. 
 
2. Move over 2 columns. Generate a column of 10 random numbers to the thousands. Take the 
sum of them using SUM(); round to the nearest ten using ROUND(). 
 
3. Move over 2 columns. Generate a column of 10 random numbers to the tens. Average them 
using AVERAGE(); round to 2 decimal places using ROUND(). 
 
4. Move over 2 columns. Generate a column of 10 random numbers to the hundreds. Average 
them using a combination of COUNT() and SUM(). Round to 1 decimal place using ROUND(). 
 
5. Average the numbers appearing in rows 1 and 2 using AVERAGE(). Round to 3 decimal places 
using ROUND() 
 
6. Add all numbers from A1 to G10 using SUM(). Round to the nearest thousand using 
ROUND(). 
 
7. Identify the highest value appearing in rows 3 and 4 using MAX(). Round it to 2 decimal 
places using ROUND(). 
 
8. Identify the lowest value appearing in rows 5 and 6 using MIN(). Round it to the nearest ten 
using ROUND(). 
 
9. Take the average of your answers to 7. and 8. using a combination of SUM() and COUNT(). 
Round the result to a whole number using ROUND(). 
 
10. Multiply the result of 9. by 56.789 and round the result to 1 decimal place using ROUND(). 
 
 

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