calculating a negative number

[Doggerry]

Can anybody help at all. I am trying to calculate a number that may be a negative from a predetermined number.

eg

=150 minus -2.5 for some reason it returns the answer as 152.5.

Plaese help.

 

[Willem!]

Hi,


150 - -2.5 = 152.5

If you want to use the absoluut value of -2.5, try:

=150-ABS(-2.5) = 147.5

HTH

 

[schielrn]

Because 150 - (-2.5) is really 150 + 2.5, since double negatives become a positive.

Maybe you want 150 + -2.5 .

Or maybe:

-2.5 + 150

Hope that helps?

 

[Doggerry]

The -2.5 has been calculated using a formula.

 

[Willem!]

What are you trying to accomplish?

(you can BTW still use the ABS()-formula around formulas).

 

[Doggerry]

I am adding up employees timesheets.

I have calculated their daily hours. then weekly. At the end of the month I need to know if they have worked more or less than 150 hours that month.

So one week they may have worked only 37 hours and the next week 37.5, by the end of the month an employee may have worked 149.5 hours and I want this to show.

The =150 - ABS() function does not work, if someone has worked over 150 hours it does not calculate correctly.

 

[Willem!]

I do not quite understand you. Do you want the following?

Person1 works 155 hours in 1 month
Person2 works 145 hours in 1 month

You want to show the following:

Person1 +5 hours
Person2 -5 hours

Am I right? Do you want this? In that case, just do '# hours worked' minus 150...

HTH

 

[Doggerry]

The spreadsheet was built by somebody else and given to me to tweak.

I have since found out that said sheet has been passed to numerous people to have a look at, who have then corrupted all the the formulae.

Going to start it again using my calculations.

Thanks for your help.