spreadsheet-formulaslisted

# Spreadsheet Formulas The problem is almost never the formula that is wrong. It is the formula that is right and points somewhere unexpected. ## Procedure 1. Find the cell that produces the disputed number and trace its precedents all the way back to entered values. Write the chain down; it is usually shorter than feared and it is always more surprising. 2. Look for the four classics: a lookup with an approximate match left on, a range that stopped growing when rows were added, an absolute reference that should be relative, and a hidden row inside a sum. 3. Check the entered values too. A number stored as text sums to zero without any error appearing anywhere. 4. Rebuild rather than patch when a formula nests more than three conditionals. A helper column is easier to audit than a clever one-liner and nobody wins prizes. 5. Add a check row: totals that must agree, differences that must be zero. A sheet with no internal check is a sheet that will be wrong again silently. 6. Explain the fix in the sheet itself, in a note next to the cell. ## Output The corrected workbook, the precedent chain that explained the error, and the check row that catches the next one.