Create a credit (negative) column in Excel?

AvonSue

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Jul 5, 2007, 4:42:03 PM7/5/07

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I am creating a spreadsheet with debit and credit columns. How do I format
the Credit column so all entries automatically post as a credit?

Gord Dibben

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Jul 5, 2007, 5:17:39 PM7/5/07

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Credits are generally positive values.

Don't enter numbers with a negative value in the credit column.

Enter those in your debit column.

Or am I missing some detail?

If you wanted negative values to show as positive, in a helper column enter

=ABS(cellref)

Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

On Thu, 5 Jul 2007 13:42:03 -0700, AvonSue <Avo...@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote:

AvonSue

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Jul 5, 2007, 6:58:06 PM7/5/07

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Hi Gordon,

Thanks for your speedy response! You have answered my question.
FYI - in accounting, Assets and Expenses are Debit Accounts and Liabilities
and Equity are Credit Accounts. This is necessary in order for your Trial
Balance to zero-out so you can do financial statements and income statements.

Stan Brown

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Jul 5, 2007, 7:23:12 PM7/5/07

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Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:17:39 -0700 from <Gord Dibben
<gorddibbATshawDOTca>>:

>
> Credits are generally positive values.
>
> Don't enter numbers with a negative value in the credit column.
>
> Enter those in your debit column.
>
> Or am I missing some detail?

Credits *and* debits are generally positive. In proper accounting
books (using the double-entry method, which it sounds like the OP
does), total credits must equal total debits.

The OP should have positive credits and positive debits, and strike a
balance by sum(debits) - sum(credits) for an asset or expense
account, sum(credits) - sum(debits) for a liability or equity or
revenue account.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/

Gord Dibben

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Jul 5, 2007, 8:24:55 PM7/5/07

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Shows how little I know about bookkeeping<g>

My rudimentary style is a column of "ins" and a column of "outs" with the
difference being what I still have in my pocket or owe to my creditors.

Gord

On Thu, 5 Jul 2007 19:23:12 -0400, Stan Brown <the_sta...@fastmail.fm>
wrote:

Jen Moskaluk

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Mar 30, 2011, 2:43:50 PM3/30/11

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I need to convert my spreadsheet credit column. The numbers now show as red and I need them to show as a negative number instead.

> On Thursday, July 05, 2007 4:42 PM AvonSu wrote:

> I am creating a spreadsheet with debit and credit columns. How do I format
> the Credit column so all entries automatically post as a credit?

>> On Thursday, July 05, 2007 5:17 PM Gord Dibben wrote:

>> Credits are generally positive values.
>>
>> Don't enter numbers with a negative value in the credit column.
>>
>> Enter those in your debit column.
>>
>> Or am I missing some detail?
>>

>> If you wanted negative values to show as positive, in a helper column enter
>>
>> =ABS(cellref)
>>
>>
>> Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 5 Jul 2007 13:42:03 -0700, AvonSue <Avo...@discussions.microsoft.com>
>> wrote:

>>> On Thursday, July 05, 2007 6:58 PM AvonSu wrote:

>>> Hi Gordon,
>>>
>>> Thanks for your speedy response! You have answered my question.
>>> FYI - in accounting, Assets and Expenses are Debit Accounts and Liabilities
>>> and Equity are Credit Accounts. This is necessary in order for your Trial
>>> Balance to zero-out so you can do financial statements and income statements.
>>>
>>> "Gord Dibben" wrote:

>>>> On Thursday, July 05, 2007 7:23 PM Stan Brown wrote:

>>>> Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:17:39 -0700 from <Gord Dibben
>>>> <gorddibbATshawDOTca>>:
>>>>

>>>> Credits *and* debits are generally positive. In proper accounting
>>>> books (using the double-entry method, which it sounds like the OP
>>>> does), total credits must equal total debits.
>>>>
>>>> The OP should have positive credits and positive debits, and strike a
>>>> balance by sum(debits) - sum(credits) for an asset or expense
>>>> account, sum(credits) - sum(debits) for a liability or equity or
>>>> revenue account.
>>>>

>>>> --
>>>> Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
>>>> http://OakRoadSystems.com/

Gord Dibben

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Mar 30, 2011, 3:30:15 PM3/30/11

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Assuming the numbers are red because they are negative..........

You don't need to convert the numbers.

Simply re-format with minus sign rather than red.

Format>Cells>Number>Number........you choose from the selection.

2007 would be Format>Format Cells>Number>Number

Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP