Excel is an incredibly powerful tool that comes in handy for a multitude of tasks, including calculating percentages. Whether you’re trying to figure out the percentage increase or decrease between two numbers, or simply calculate a percentage as part of whole, Excel has got you covered. In this article, we’ll walk you through some easy steps to show you how to calculate percentages in Excel.

1. Percentage of a Number

To calculate the percentage of a particular number in Excel, you need to use the following formula:

=number * (percentage/100)

Suppose cell A1 contains the number (100) and cell B1 contains the percentage (15%). To calculate the percentage in cell C1, enter this formula:

=A1 * (B1/100)

This will give you the result (15) which is 15% of 100.

2. Percentage Increase or Decrease

To determine the percentage increase or decrease between two numbers, follow this formula:

=((New Number – Old Number)/Old Number) * 100

Let’s say cell A1 contains old number (40), and cell B1 contains new number (60). To calculate the percentage increase in C1, use this formula:

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

The result will be displayed as 50% – meaning there was a 50% increase from 40 to 60.

3. Calculate Percentages as Part of Whole

If you want to find out what percentage one value contributes to the overall sum, use the following formula:

=(Value/Total Sum) * 100

Consider three sales areas with their revenues entered into cells: A1(USD 15000), B1(USD 20000), and C1(USD 25000). To find out what portion cell A1 contributes to these revenues as a whole, input this formula into cell D1:

=(A1/(A1+B1+C1)) * 100

This should yield the result of 25%, which means that the sales area from cell A1 contributes to 25% of the total revenue.

In conclusion, Excel is a versatile tool that can help you calculate percentages with ease. The formulas provided above can be applied to a wide range of calculations, from basic percentages to determining percentage increases/decreases and finding percentages as part of a whole. Whether you’re working with business data, grades in a class, or just trying to get to grips with your finances, Excel’s percentage calculation features are a powerful resource.