Calculating percentage change in Excel is a fundamental skill for many professionals, from finance to science. This powerful tool allows you to manipulate data effortlessly and provides various ways to calculate percentage change. The purpose of this article is to provide a step-by-step guide on how to calculate percentage change in Excel.

Step 1: Input Your Data

To begin with, input the data for which you want to calculate the percentage change in two separate columns. For example, if you have sales data for two periods (say, Period1 and Period2), place the sales figures for Period1 in column A and Period2 in column B.

Step 2: Choose a Calculation Method

Depending on your specific requirements, there are several methods to calculate percentage change. Here are the most common ones:

– Method 1: Simple Percentage Change

– Method 2: CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)

– Method 3: Point-to-Point Change (P2P)

For this example, we will use Method 1 – Simple Percentage Change.

Step 3: Apply the Formula

Using the simple formula to calculate percentage change:

Percentage Change = ((New Value – Old Value)/Old Value) * 100

Assuming you have the old value in cell A1 and the new value in cell B1, type the following formula into any empty cell, say C1:

=((B1-A1)/A1)*100

Then hit Enter.

Step 4: Format as Percentage

Now that you have calculated the percentage change in cell C1, it’s time to format it as a percentage. To do this:

1. Click on cell C1.

2. Press ‘Ctrl + Shift + %’ (or, alternatively select ‘Percent Style’ from the toolbar).

You should now see the percentage change displayed as a percentage in cell C1.

Step 5: Copy the Formula (Optional)

If you have more rows of data and want to calculate the percentage change for all of them, follow these steps:

1. Click on cell C1.

2. Hover your cursor over the bottom-right corner of cell C1 until it turns into a small black plus sign (+).

3. Click and drag this plus sign down column C to fill your desired range.

The percentage change will now be calculated for all the corresponding cells in columns A and B.

Conclusion

Calculating percentage change in Excel is a simple process that involves inputting data, choosing an appropriate calculation method, applying the formula, and formatting the result as desired. Now you can easily compute and analyze changes between different sets of data by using Excel’s versatile formulas and shortcuts.