Excel Toolkit / Function guides
SUM in Excel: explanation and examples
Add up a collection of amounts without writing a long chain of additions. Start with one direct calculation.
These examples use the Moon Energy teaching case. All businesses and data are fictional. They are learning examples, not financial or tax advice.
Microsoft’s definition
The SUM function adds values.
Read the SUM function reference on Microsoft Support
Three ways to understand SUM
Transactional finance
Moon Energy’s finance team is reviewing opening-period supplier bill amounts and a comparison budget.
Total the five observations.
| Row | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Site code | Site type | Bill net GBP | Budget | |
| 2 | S01 | Hospital | £32,439.68 | £29,195.71 | |
| 3 | S02 | Office | £7,420.00 | £6,678.00 | |
| 4 | S03 | Office | £6,128.42 | £5,515.58 | |
| 5 | S04 | Retail | £3,216.42 | £2,894.78 | |
| 6 | S05 | Retail | £3,771.49 | £3,394.34 |
Formula: =SUM(C2:C6)
Result for this sample: £52,976.01
Business operations
Moon Energy’s operations team is reviewing site electricity readings and a comparison consumption budget.
Total the five observations.
| Row | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Site code | Site type | Electricity kWh | Budget | |
| 2 | S01 | Hospital | 143695 | 129325.5 | |
| 3 | S02 | Office | 32000 | 28800 | |
| 4 | S03 | Office | 26234 | 23610.6 | |
| 5 | S04 | Retail | 13234 | 11910.6 | |
| 6 | S05 | Retail | 15712 | 14140.8 |
Formula: =SUM(C2:C6)
Result for this sample: 230,875
Abstract
Moon Energy’s orbital stations hold photon-cell reserves. Their controller compares current reserves with planned reserves.
Total the five observations.
| Row | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Station code | Station class | Photon cells | Budget | |
| 2 | S01 | Hospital | 14500 | 13050 | |
| 3 | S02 | Office | 3200 | 2880 | |
| 4 | S03 | Office | 2600 | 2340 | |
| 5 | S04 | Retail | 1300 | 1170 | |
| 6 | S05 | Retail | 1600 | 1440 |
Formula: =SUM(C2:C6)
Result for this sample: 23,200
Experiment in Formula Lab
Open SUM in the interactive Formula Lab →
The practice engine supports a focused subset of Excel behavior. Lookups are exact-match only; it does not support all Excel functions, dates, arrays or workbook imports. Read the limits shown in Formula Lab before interpreting a result.