Skip to content
Free Excel Tutorials
  • Home
  • Excel For Beginners
  • Excel Intermediate
  • Advanced Excel For Experts

Data Analysis

  • Excel Line Chart
  • How to create a Histogram in Excel
  • How to create dynamic reference table name in Excel
  • Conditional Formatting Icon Sets Examples in Excel
  • Understanding Anova in Excel

References

  • How to use Excel TRANSPOSE Function
  • Two-column Lookup in Excel
  • How to get address of named range in Excel
  • Get nth match with INDEX / MATCH in Excel
  • Merge tables with VLOOKUP in Excel

Data Validations

  • Data validation must not exist in list
  • Prevent invalid data entering in specific cells
  • Excel Data validation require unique number
  • Excel Data validation don’t exceed total
  • Excel Data validation date in specific year

Sum last n columns in Excel

by

This tutorial shows how to Sum last n columns in Excel using the example below;

Formula

=SUM(INDEX(data,0,COLUMNS(data)-(n-1)):INDEX(data,0,COLUMNS(data)))

Explanation

To sum the last n columns in a table of data (i.e. last 3 columns, last 4 columns, etc.) you can use a formula based on the INDEX function. In the example shown, the formula in K5:

=SUM(INDEX(data,0,COLUMNS(data)-(K4-1)):
INDEX(data,0,COLUMNS(data)))

where “data” is the named range C5:H8

Worked Example:   Join tables with INDEX and MATCH in Excel

How this formula works

The key to understanding this formula is to realize that the INDEX function can be used to return a reference to entire rows and entire columns.

To generate a reference to the “last n columns” in a table, we build a reference in two parts, joined by the range operator. To get a reference to the left column, we use:

INDEX(data,0,COLUMNS(data)-(K4-1))

Since data contains 6 columns, and K4 contains 3, this simplifies to:

INDEX(data,0,4) // all of column 4

To get a reference to the right column in the range, we use:

INDEX(data,0,COLUMNS(data))

Which returns a reference to column 6 of the named range “data”, since the COLUMN function returns 6:

INDEX(data,0,6) // all of column 6

Together, the two INDEX functions return a reference to columns 4 through 6 in the data (i.e. F5:H8), which resolve to an array of values inside the SUM function:

SUM({15,14,10;9,12,12;7,9,9;12,13,13})

The SUM function then calculates and returns the sum, 135.

Worked Example:   How to get relative row numbers in a range in Excel

Post navigation

Previous Post:

44 Practical Excel IF function Examples

Next Post:

Large with criteria in Excel

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn Basic Excel

Ribbon
Workbook
Worksheets
Format Cells
Find & Select
Sort & Filter
Templates
Print
Share
Protect
Keyboard Shortcuts

Categories

  • Charts
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Validation
  • Excel Functions
    • Cube Functions
    • Database Functions
    • Date and Time Functions
    • Engineering Functions
    • Financial Functions
    • Information Functions
    • Logical Functions
    • Lookup and Reference Functions
    • Math and Trig Functions
    • Statistical Functions
    • Text Functions
    • Web Functions
  • Excel VBA
  • Excel Video Tutorials
  • Formatting
  • Grouping
  • Others

Logical Functions

  • AND function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • IF function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • IFNA function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • How to use Excel AND Function
  • IF with wildcards in Excel

Date Time

  • Calculate retirement date in Excel
  • How to determine year is a leap year in Excel
  • Steps to create Dynamic calendar grid in Excel
  • Get first day of month in Excel
  • Get work hours between dates custom schedule in Excel

Grouping

  • Group numbers at uneven intervals in Excel
  • Group times into unequal buckets in Excel
  • If cell contains one of many things in Excel
  • Group arbitrary text values in Excel
  • How to randomly assign data to groups in Excel

General

  • Subtotal invoices by age in Excel
  • How to add sequential row numbers to a set of data in Excel
  • 231 Keyboard Shortcut Keys In Excel
  • List sheet names with formula in Excel
  • Basic numeric sort formula in Excel
© 2023 xlsoffice . All Right Reserved. | Teal Smiles | Abbreviations And Their Meaning