How to Use the IF Formula in Excel, Part 1

Sometimes you need your data to tell you more. The IF formula as a function gives your data a voice and turns raw numbers into useful information. For example: Your wholesale company charges different rates depending on the size of bulk orders – customers who order more receive volume discounts. You want to quickly calculate the volume discount on a batch of orders so your sales team can deliver the correct quotes to their customers. In a nutshell, you need to calculate your cost and volume numbers into a price for your customers based on an additional bit of logic.

Here is how your data might look in a simple spreadsheet:

To set up an IF function, try thinking about your problem in natural language:

Problem: IF (the number of units is over 1000, the customer receives a volume discount of 3%, otherwise the customer receives no discount).

Now, just fill in the cells and values for the statement:

=IF(D2>1000, 0.03,0)

• D2 is the cell that shows the number of units sold
• 0.03 is the discount (3%) received if D2 is greater than 1000
• 0 is the discount received if D2 is not greater than 1000

If you are still confused about how to use an IF function, Excel offers some help:

1. Click on the Formulas tab, then click the Insert Function button.

2. Select IF from the Insert Function dialog box. Click OK.

3. Fill in the function arguments in the next dialog box. The dialog box includes prompts to help you set up your
IF function. Click OK. Excel will populate the cell with the function in the correct format.