Am hoping someone can help me with excel! Please.

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I am not very familiar with excel and I am trying to do a subtraction formula. What I want to do is: Cell B1 minus all figures from Cells B3 to B19.

Now I have tried the following:

=sum(b1-B3:B19)
=sum(b1)-(B3:B19)
=sum((b1)-(b3:b19))

and so on and all I get is #value in B20.

Now it will do it the long hand version way ie

=sum(b1-b3-b4-b5-b6 etc)

But that takes ages to type.

Dose anyone please know if there is a shorter formula to get it to subtract? The short hand version works for addition but not for subtraction, what am I doing wrong?

You could always do =sum(B3:B19) in a spare cell first then go =B1-cell with the sum of B3:B19 in it.

Yes I can do for this as it is only a piece for me but god help me if i need to do any kind of bank statement where I need to subtract multiple cell data from a total balance. I can do it but I have to type it in long hand and it takes ages to enter each individual cell i want it to subtract from the over all total.

I am now close to throwing my computer across the room!

please for the love of god and all that is holy does anyone know the correct damned equation?

Ok got it from someone and on seeing the equation it makes sense lol

=sum(b1-(sum(b3:b19)))

One sum minus another sum.

I have zero patience for computer stuff....as it bores me senseless lol. It is something I learn on a need to know basis only.