Formulas - The IF Function

The IF function is effective in placing conditional situations within your sheet. In the example we need a warning if our actual spending is over budget. Look at the formula which sends a warning if C10 is greater than B10. You place the formula in an open cell like D10 in the example, otherwise you will get an error.

Now create a little more complex IF function. The IF function looks for a true situation first, being over budget, and then moves to a condition which is false, in other words not over budget. We can then add a second phrase to give encouragement for staying on budget. Make sure each text string is enclosed in quotes and separated by a semi-colon.