How To Do Percent Change In Excel

How to Calculate Percent Change in Excel – Find Increase and Decrease Percentage

In this article, you'll learn how to use Excel to calculate percentage alter, and as well how to find the increase and subtract in percentage values.

Microsoft'south Excel is the near used software when information technology come performing calculations. Various departments in many businesses use it, like accounting, inventory tracking, time logging, and more.

It has many helpful inbuilt features like formulas and it helps you do accurate calculations.

In this article, nosotros are going to go through how to utilize Excel to calculate percentage change, and also how to find the increase and decrease in percentage values.

Allow's go into it.

What is Percentage Change?

Per centum alter is a concept in math that represents changes that take occurred over time. It is mostly applicable in the field of accounting to compare old changes to new ones.

In social club to summate percentage change in Excel, you lot'll need to use a formula. It's the formula that that keeps track of dissimilar figures being worked on, like rest sheets, production prices, and others.

Formula syntax

                per centum change = (NEW - ORIGINAL) / ORIGINAL

How to Calculate Per centum in Excel

Let'due south take a expect at an example to become the agreement of the formula at work.

Instance ane
If your earnings are $one,250 in May and $ane,750 in June, what is the percentage alter?

Solution
What nosotros are trying to find in this question is the change that was fabricated on the earnings from the month of May to June.

Using our formula:

                percentage change = (NEW - ORIGINAL) / ORIGINAL  hence: (1,750 - 1,250) / 1250 = 0.4 or 40%

Example two
Now let's take a wait at how to do this in excel with a handful of data entries to better empathise how Excel functions work:

STEP i: Data Entry.
Below we are presented with n excel workspace with some data, we are expected to summate the percentage change as indicated in column D.

STEP 2: The Formula.
In this case we will let A = Actual Toll and B = Budget Price, then our formula will be: A/B-1. This formula will exist entered in cell D2.
formula

To execute the formula all we need to do is press Enter. Nosotros volition become our per centum change in decimal values similar below:

If the number you get is positive, like 0.two, then the per centum increased. If the number is negative, like -0.ii, then the percent decreased.

percentage change

STEP iii: Assigning %.
In social club to assign the % sign to our values, we have a couple of options. We can either:

Right click on the values and select '%', then elevate the cursor down to apply changes to other values. Or
Highlight the whole column '% Change' and select the % sign from the Home carte, nether numbers in the work sheet.

When computing percent change in excel, nosotros have ii options to work with that is; we are either calculating percentage increment or decrease. Allow's take a expect on how to work on this:

How to Calculate Percentage Increment

In club to calculate percentage increase, yous will need to figure out the difference between the two numbers you are comparison meaning you volition need the Original details and the Newly added ones.

In this case our formula volition be divided into two steps:

                increase = (NEW - ORIGINAL)

The side by side step volition be dividing the increase past the original number and multiplying information technology by 100 to get the percentage value.

                percentage increase = Increase ÷ Original Number × 100.

If the number y'all get is negative, similar -0.ten, then the percentage actually decreased rather than increased.

Example
Your household bill was $100 in September, but increased to $125 in October. What is the per centum increase from September to Oct?

Solution
Referencing to our formula to a higher place, beginning we volition need to get the increased value then convert information technology into percentage.

                increment = (NEW - ORIGINAL)  hence: increase = (125 - 100 = 25)  and then: percent increase = Increase ÷ Original Number × 100. % increase = 25 ÷ 100 × 100      = 25%

Every bit described earlier when calculating percent change in excel, the aforementioned steps will be followed in the instance of percentage change.

How to Calculate Percentage Subtract

The same process nosotros practical when computing per centum increment will be applied here, the merely difference will be this time round we will be subtracting the original value from new one.

Formula

                                  Subtract = Original Number - New Number

The next step you separate the value y'all got as a subtract past the original number and multiply by 100 to go the % value.

                Pct Subtract = Decrease ÷ Original Number × 100

If the number yous get is negative, similar -0.x, then the percentage really increased rather than decreased.

Example
In the previous year, your expenses were $500,000. This yr, your expenses were $400,000. What is the percentage subtract of your expenses this yr compared to last twelvemonth?

Solution
The offset step is for united states of america to get the decreased value, which will easily guide us into getting the percentage value of the aforementioned.

                                  Decrease = Original Number - New Number    therefore:  Decrease = (500,000 - 400,000)              = 100,000    hence:  Percentage Decrease = Subtract ÷ Original Number × 100  % Subtract = 100,000 ÷ 500,000 × 100              = 20%

Perchance you might wonder how practise I go almost the same on an excel worksheet? well hither is a pictorial representation and working f the same:
percentage decrease

There you have it, the above illustrated methods volition works no matter what amount of data you lot have at hand.

At present when working with softwares you are not always guaranteed success, you are bount to encounter some errors. Below are some of the most ones which you are probable to encounter and how to solve them.

Common Excel Errors When Using Formulas

#DIV/0!: Occurs if you endeavour to divide a number by zilch. To solve this problem change the divider into a number that is not cypher.
#VALUE: Occurs when cells are left bare, or when a part is expecting a number but you laissez passer it text instead.
NUM!: Occurs when a formula contains invalid numeric values.
####: Occurs when the values are too many to brandish in the assigned column. The solution is to expand the corresponding column.
#Name?: If you type wrong values in the formula, like misspelling of a function. To fix it write correct formula names.
#REF!: Occurs when you are referencing cells that are not valid or deleting cells that have been referred to in a formula. To fix this, refers cells correctly.

Wrap Up

Now, with this knowledge yous should be able to piece of work yourself around percentage change calculations. Do you have anybody in mind who might do good with the knowledge captured here, practice share the article with them.

Hither is a quick recap of what we take discussed:

In percentage change calculations we need at-to the lowest degree two values.
Percentage alter can be either a positive or a negative number.
If the number you get in % subtract is negative then the per centum actually increased rather than decreased.
If the number you get in % increase is negative, then the percentage actually decreased rather than increased.

Hither are a few resources to help you get a better understanding of working with Excel.