How to Use SUMIF in Google Sheets: A Step-by-Step Guide

Hey there! Are you tired of manually calculating the total values of certain conditions in your Google Sheets? Well, look no further because I'm here to introduce you to SUMIF, the ultimate formula for this type of calculation. In this step-by-step guide, I'll show you how to use SUMIF in Google Sheets with simple examples and explanations. So let's get started!

Step 1: Set up your data

First off, you'll need some data to work with. Let's say you have a spreadsheet of your business sales and you want to calculate the total sales for a particular product. Your data might look like this:

As you can see, there are different products with different sales figures. We want to calculate the total sales for Product A using SUMIF.

Step 2: Set up the SUMIF formula

Now that you have some data to work with, it's time to set up the SUMIF formula. In the cell where you want to display the total sales for Product A, enter the formula:

=SUMIF(A:A,"Product A",B:B)

Let me break down this formula for you:

• A:A is the range of cells where the criteria is located, in this case, the Product column.
• "Product A" is the criteria we're using to identify the rows we want to sum.
• B:B is the range of cells to sum, in this case, the Sales column.

When you hit enter, you should see the total sales for Product A, which in this case is 250.

Step 3: Understanding the SUMIF formula

Now that you know how to use SUMIF, let's take a closer look at the formula and how it works.

The first argument, A:A, is the range of cells that contains the criteria you want to use. In this case, we're using the Product column to identify the rows we want to sum.

The second argument, "Product A", is the criteria you want to search for within the range of cells. This could be a text string, number, or logical expression.

The third argument, B:B, is the range of cells that you want to sum if the criteria in the first argument is met. In our example, we want to sum the Sales column.

The SUMIF formula is really helpful when you have a large data set and only want to sum certain rows based on a specific condition.

Step 4: Using wildcards with SUMIF

What if you want to sum all the rows that contain a certain word in the Product column, but you're not sure of the exact word? That's where wildcards come in.

There are two types of wildcards you can use with the SUMIF formula:

• * – represents any number of characters
• ? – represents a single character

For example, if you want to sum all the rows that contain the word "Product" in the Product column, regardless of what comes after it, you can use the formula:

=SUMIF(A:A,"*Product*",B:B)

The asterisks represent any number of characters before or after the word "Product" and ensure that any row containing the word "Product" in the Product column will be included in the sum.

Conclusion

And that's it! You now know how to use SUMIF in Google Sheets to sum rows based on a certain condition. It's a really powerful formula that can save you a lot of time and effort, especially when working with large data sets. Remember to experiment with wildcards to make your SUMIF formula even more flexible. Happy sheeting!