Excel Formula Generator (AI Prompt)

## Excel Formula Solution

**Goal:** Sum sales by salesperson from transaction data

---

### THE FORMULA

For Google Sheets:
```
=SUMIF(B:B, F2, C:C)
```

For Excel (same formula works):
```
=SUMIF(B:B, F2, C:C)
```

---

### PLAIN ENGLISH EXPLANATION

"Add up all the values in column C (Amount), but ONLY where the corresponding value in column B (Salesperson) matches the name in cell F2."

---

### HOW TO IMPLEMENT

1. Create a summary table starting in column F:
   - F1: "Salesperson" (header)
   - G1: "Total Sales" (header)
   
2. In F2 and below, list each unique salesperson name

3. In G2, paste the formula: =SUMIF(B:B, F2, C:C)

4. Drag G2 down to copy the formula for each salesperson

---

### FORMULA BREAKDOWN

| Part | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| SUMIF | Function that sums based on a condition |
| B:B | The range to check (Salesperson column) |
| F2 | The criteria to match (salesperson name) |
| C:C | The range to sum (Amount column) |

---

### COMMON ERRORS

| Error | Cause | Fix |
|-------|-------|-----|
| #VALUE! | Mixing text and numbers | Ensure Amount column is all numbers |
| 0 | Name doesn't match exactly | Check for extra spaces, use TRIM() |
| Wrong total | Range not aligned | Make sure B:B and C:C have same rows |

---

### ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES

**For more complex summaries, use SUMIFS:**
```
=SUMIFS(C:C, B:B, F2, A:A, ">="&DATE(2024,1,1))
```
This adds a date filter to sum only 2024 transactions.

**For a full summary table automatically, use QUERY (Google Sheets):**
```
=QUERY(A:D, "SELECT B, SUM(C) WHERE B IS NOT NULL GROUP BY B LABEL SUM(C) 'Total'")
```