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The simplest way to achieve this is to create an expanding reference by making use of absolute (fixed) and relative cell references. This allows you to see what a total was up to a particular point in time (for example, month-to-date, year-to-date, etc.).

Sometimes we want a formula that progressively adds values up to the most recent value entered. This method can be useful for adding an entire column or row of values without scrolling to the first cell in the range. A SUM formula will appear in the active cell with a reference to the numeric cells immediately above.From the Home tab on the Ribbon, click the AutoSum command (Σ symbol) or use the keyboard shortcut ( Alt + =).In the row below the cells you want to sum, you can select the blank cell.It automatically enters a SUM formula in the selected cell. The SUM function ignores text values, so a valid result is returned.ĪutoSum is a quick way to sum a range of cells. However, an error results if the plus sign is used when one cell includes a text value. It’s true that you’ll get the same results whether you use the plus sign or SUM in the following example. Here is another advantage of the SUM function. It’s far quicker to type “SUM” and highlight the range to be added than it is to type each value one by one.

The first and most obvious reason is, of course, efficiency, especially in the case of a range of cells. But you may wonder why we need a special function to do that when the plus sign works just fine. That’s neither surprising nor earth-shattering.