Averaging Percentages

[Debbie Sap]

Thanks for all the expert help you provide:

How do you go about averaging % please

For example

Month 1 (88%)
Month (17%)
Month 3 94%


At the bottom of the screen, excel is calculating the average to be (4%) but if I take the

Total Revenue Diff of $68,748 / 2,577,608 and calculate the % in the normal way it is showing it as a positive 3%

Thank

 

[Peter_SSs]

Ok I think, I need to remove myself from this forum. Please advise how to do it.

If my original thought of $68,748/2,577,608 was correct, then why am I being shown examples of averaging. I know you not trying to spoon feed. But I was asking if I was correct in m original thought.

Thanks to everyone for the time and patience. I appreciate your kindness & help. Be happy.

Debbie, I also hope you stay on the forum. You must remember that everyone here is a volunteer and offers suggestions in good faith, but we don't know the full details of what you have on your sheet or exactly what you are trying to achieve.

Forum members are just trying to point out that a common mistake is to directly average existing percentages (or other averages).

Let me see if I can spell it out with a simple example to demonstrate the point.

The first 3 blue cells are the individual monthly expense percentage.
The lower blue cell averages those first three percentages.

However the correct overall expense percentage is obtained using the yellow "Total" cells.

Excel Workbook
	A	B	C	D	E
1		Revenue	Expenses	Expense %
2	Month 1	1,000	100	10.00%
3	Month 2	5,000	300	6.00%
4	Month 3	1,500	210	14.00%
5
6				10.00%
7
8	Total	7,500	610	8.13%
Example

 

[Debbie Sap]

Hi To everyone who has been helping me

I am thankful for ALL the responses to me. Perhaps I was over sensitive in that I felt that I was the one being told that I was not grasping things!
I do appreciate very much and agree that with limited information that is provided there can be a variety of methods to obtain the correct answer in questions like this. I also know that people are taking their time and expertise to respond to me with nothing in return which I do appreciate.

I will work on the above examples and try and get greater understand as to WHY there is a variety of methods that can be applied.

In essence, we are trying to do per the above examples, except that we are comparing 2013 revenue against 2014. Therefore the same principal per above.

Again, I do appreciate ALL the responses. I felt was frustrating you all.

Appreciate you not simply dismissing my thread. Enjoy w/e

I

 

[Michael M]

Hi Debbie
I hope Peters example helps you get the desired result.
Peter has already mentioned that we are all here to help
I too, hope you remain with the Mr Excel family...