Excel Calculations Are Wrong

Are you staring at your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet wondering why the calculations are not adding up properly? A row or column may clearly add up in your head, but it’s just not accurate in your spreadsheet. Here are a few things to check if your Excel spreadsheet is calculating wrong.

Fix 1 – Ensure Workbook Calculation is Enabled.

1. Go to “File” > “Options” > “Formulas“.
2. In the “Calculation options” area, ensure “Automatic” is selected.

Fix 2 – Hidden Rows or Columns

If columns or rows are hidden, they still will calculate in the sheet. You will need to find and unhide these rows if they are causing your spreadsheet to calculate unexpected totals.

You can find hidden rows or columns by locating the small boxes between columns or rows on the left or top panes.

You can reveal hidden by highlighting the rows or columns the hidden values are in between, right-click, then choose “Unhide“.

Fix 3 – Hidden Decimals

If values that were entered with decimals were entered, Excel may round those values up in a single cell, but not for the overall total.

Check to see if decimals are hidden by highlighting all cells with numbers, then selecting “Format Cells“. From there, you can look under the “Number” category, to see how many decimal places are shown. Increase the Decimal places to 30 to see everything.