The approach you take depends on the result you need and the Excel version you’re using.
Instructions cover Excel in Microsoft 365, Excel 2019-2007, Excel Online, and Excel for Mac.
Select an empty cell where you want the answer displayed.
Enter anequal sign(=)followed by anopen parenthesisto begin creating the formula.
In Excel for Mac, you don’t need the parenthesis.
snag the cell containing the number for which you want to find 10%.
Enter anasterisk(*).
grab the cell in which you entered 10%.
Enter aclose parenthesisand pressEnter.
The calculation appears in the selected cell.
Example: Enter573into cell A1 and10%into cell B1.
Enter7%into B1.
Point to the lower-right corner of the cell until you see aPlus sign(+).
This is the fill handle.
SelectColumn C.
SelectNumberand selectOK.
Enter=A1*B1in Excel 2016 for Mac or Excel for Mac 2011.
The first calculation appears inC1.
Rather than multiplying, you’ll need to use a formula to divide.
Enter the total goal into one cell.
For example, enter1500intoA1.
Enter the total to date in another cell.
For example, enter736intoB1.
snag the cell where you want to display the percentage.
In Excel for Mac, you do not need to include the parenthesis.
Enter aclose parenthesisand pressEnter.
Your formula should look like this:=B1/A1in Excel 2016 for Mac or Excel for Mac 2011.
A number appears in the selected cell.
Right-pick the cell and selectFormat Cells.
Adjust the decimals, if desired, then selectOK.
If you’re using Excel Online, selectHome, point toNumber Formatand choosePercentage.
The percentage appears in the cell.
For instance, you might want to decrease your grocery spending on your budget worksheet by 17%.
To do so, you’ll need to calculate the percentage using multiplication and subtraction.
Enter the amount you want to change by a percentage in the first cell.
For example, enter$200in cellA1.
choose the second column.
Right-nudge the cell and selectFormat Cells.
Enter the percentage by which you want to reduce the original amount in the second column.
For instance, enter17%inB1.
Select inside the third cell where you want to display the changed amount.
For this example, the formula you would use is=A1*(1-B1).
The formula in parentheses calculates the percentage, which the remainder of the formula subtracts from the original amount.
You should see the result after pressingEnter.
