Excel Running Total

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How to Calculate Running Total (Cumulative Sum) in Excel?

Example #1 – Performing “Running Total or Cumulative” with Simple Formula

We can also use this data (running total) for certain analyses.

  • Let us assume that we have the data on our expenses every month as follows: From this data, we can observe that we spent 3,25,000 in total from January to December. Now, let us see how much of my total expenses were made by the end of the month. We will use a simple formula in Excel to calculate as required. First, we should consider the amount spent in a particular month, January, as we contemplate our spent calculation from January. Now, calculate the money spent for the rest of the months as follows: February – D2+C3 The running total for February month is 45,000. For the next month onwards we have to consider the money spent till the previous month and money spent in the current month:March – C4+D3 Similarly, for the rest of the months, the result would be as follows: From the above result, we can observe that by the end of the year in December, we had spent 3,25,000, which is the total amount from the start of the year. Therefore, this running total will tell us how much we had spent on a particular month. Until July, we had spent 1,88,000. Till November, we had spent 2,94,000.

February – D2+C3

For the next month onwards we have to consider the money spent till the previous month and money spent in the current month:March – C4+D3

From the above result, we can observe that by the end of the year in December, we had spent 3,25,000, which is the total amount from the start of the year. Therefore, this running total will tell us how much we had spent on a particular month.

Q1) If we want to know by which month we had spent 90,000?

  • A) April – We can see the “Cumulative/Running Total” column from the table. It shows that the cumulative spending till April month is 90,000.

Q2) Suppose we want to know the % of money spent that we had spent till July?

  • A) 58% – We can take the amount spent till July and divide it by the total amount spent as follows.

We had spent 58% of the money until July.

Example #2 – Performing “Running Total or Cumulative” with “SUM” Formula

In this example, we will use the SUM in excelSUM In ExcelThe SUM function in excel adds the numerical values in a range of cells. Being categorized under the Math and Trigonometry function, it is entered by typing “=SUM” followed by the values to be summed. The values supplied to the function can be numbers, cell references or ranges.read more instead of the “+” operator to calculate the cumulative in Excel.

But, first, apply the SUM Formula in excel.

While using the SUM function, we should consider summing the earlier month spent and the current month spent. But for the first month, we should add earlier cells, i.e.cumulative, which will be regarded as zero.

Then, drag the formula to other cells.

Example #3 – Performing “Running Total or Cumulative” with a PivotTable

To perform running total using a PivotTable in Excel, we should create a PivotTable first. Create a pivot tablePivot TableA Pivot Table is an Excel tool that allows you to extract data in a preferred format (dashboard/reports) from large data sets contained within a worksheet. It can summarize, sort, group, and reorganize data, as well as execute other complex calculations on it.read more by selecting the table and clicking on the PivotTable from the “Insert” tab.

We can see the PivotTable is created now. Drag the “Month” column into the “Rows” field and the “Amount Spent” column into the “Values” field. The table would be as follows:

Again, drag the “Amount Spent” column into the “Values” field to create a total running value. Then, right-click on the column as follows:

Click on “Show Value As,” and you will get an option of “Running Total In.”

Now, we can see the table with a column having cumulative values as follows:

We can change the table’s name by editing the cell with a “Sum of Amount Spent2.”

Example #4 – Performing “Running Total or Cumulative” with a Relative Named Range

We need to make temporary changes in the Excel options to perform running total with a relative named range.

Change Excel referenceExcel ReferenceCell reference in excel is referring the other cells to a cell to use its values or properties. For instance, if we have data in cell A2 and want to use that in cell A1, use =A2 in cell A1, and this will copy the A2 value in A1.read more style from A1 to R1C1 from Excel options as below:

“Reference style R1C1” refers to “Row 1” and “Column 1.” This style can find positive and negative signs used for a reason.

In Rows: –

  • The +(positive) sign refers to a “Downward” direction.The – (negative) sign refers to an “Upward” direction.

Ex- R[3] connects the cell 3 rows below the current cell. R[-5] connects the cell 5 rows above the current cell

In Columns: –

  • The +(positive) sign refers to the “Right” direction.The – (negative) sign refers to the “Left” direction.

Ex- C[2] refers to connecting the cell, which is 2 columns right to the current cell, and C[-4] refers to connecting the cell, which is 4 columns left to the current cell.

To use the reference style to calculate the running total, we must define a name with certain criteria.

In our example, we have to define the name by “R[-1]C” because we are calculating the cumulative sum of the cell’s previous row and column with every month’s expense. Define a name in Excel with “Cum”(You can define it as per your wish) as follows:

Go to the “Formulas” tab and select the “Define Name.”

Then, the “New Name” window will pop out and give the name per your wish and the condition you want to perform for the name you defined. Here, we take R[-1]C because we will sum the previous row of the cell and column with every month’s expense.

Once the name is defined, then go to the column of “Cumulative/Running Total” and use the defined name in the SUM function as follows:

It tells us to perform SUM with the cell “RC[-1}” and “Cum” (Which is already defined), and in the first cell, we get the same expense incurred in January.

Then, drag down the formula to the end of the table. We can see the cumulative results will be out as below:

Things to Remember

  • The running total/cumulative will help analyze the data’s information for decision-making purposes.A relatively named range running total is performed to avoid the problems with inserting and deleting rows from the data. This operation will refer to the cell as per the condition given though we insert or delete rows or columns.Cumulative in Excel is mostly used in financial modelingFinancial ModelingFinancial modeling refers to the use of excel-based models to reflect a company’s projected financial performance. Such models represent the financial situation by taking into account risks and future assumptions, which are critical for making significant decisions in the future, such as raising capital or valuing a business, and interpreting their impact.read more, and the final cumulative value will be the same as the “Total Sum.”The “Total Sum” and “Running Total” are different. The key difference is the computation we do. The “Total Sum” will perform the sum of each number in the data series. At the same time, the “Running Total” will sum the previous value with the current value from the data.

This article is a guide to Running Total in Excel. Here, we discuss calculating the running total (cumulative sum) using a simple formula, SUM formula, PivotTable, and named range in Excel, along with practical examples and a downloadable Excel template. You may learn more about Excel from the following articles: –

  • Running Total in Power BI Excel Examples of Text SUMIFExcel Examples of Not Blank SUMIFExamples of Chi-Square Test in Excel