Google Sheets Formulas: 12 Essentials Every Beginner Should Know

Google Sheets can do far more than store numbers in boxes — but only if you know a handful of formulas. The good news: you do not need fifty. These twelve formulas cover the large majority of everyday spreadsheet work, from totals and averages to looking up values and cleaning lists. Each one below comes with a plain-English explanation and a small example you can copy.

How formulas work in Sheets (30-second version)

Every formula starts with =. You refer to cells by their addresses (A1, B2), and to a block of cells with a colon (A1:A10 means A1 through A10). Type the formula in the cell where you want the answer. Sheets fills in suggestions as you type — press Tab or Enter to accept them.

1. SUM — add a range of numbers

=SUM(B2:B10) adds everything from B2 to B10. The one formula every sheet needs.

2. AVERAGE — the mean of a range

=AVERAGE(B2:B10) adds the numbers and divides by how many there are. Empty cells are ignored.

3. COUNT and COUNTA — count things

=COUNT(B2:B10) counts cells containing numbers. =COUNTA(A2:A10) counts non-empty cells of any kind — use it to count names, entries, or responses.

4. MAX and MIN — biggest and smallest

=MAX(B2:B10) returns the largest value; =MIN(B2:B10) the smallest. Perfect for highest sale, lowest price, best score.

5. IF — make a decision

=IF(C2>=50, “Pass”, “Fail”) checks a condition and returns one value or the other. IF is the gateway to almost all spreadsheet logic — grades, stock alerts (“Order more” when quantity drops below 10), targets, and more.

6. VLOOKUP — find a value in a table

=VLOOKUP(D2, A2:B10, 2, FALSE) finds D2’s value in the first column of A2:B10 and returns the matching value from column 2. It works exactly as in Excel — our full tutorial with examples and error fixes is here: VLOOKUP Formula in Excel: How to Use It with Examples.

7. SUMIF and COUNTIF — totals with a condition

=SUMIF(A2:A10, “Rent”, B2:B10) adds only the B values whose matching A value is “Rent”. =COUNTIF(C2:C10, “>100”) counts how many values exceed 100. These two turn a raw list into a summary in seconds.

8. FILTER — show only matching rows

=FILTER(A2:C20, C2:C20=”Lahore”) returns just the rows where column C equals “Lahore”, updating automatically when the data changes. FILTER is a Sheets strength that Excel users envy — no manual copying, no stale extracts.

9. SORT and UNIQUE — tidy a list

=SORT(A2:A20) outputs the range in order without touching the original. =UNIQUE(A2:A100) removes duplicates — the fastest way to turn a messy sign-up list into a clean list of names.

10. TODAY and NOW — automatic dates

=TODAY() inserts today’s date and updates daily; =NOW() adds the current time. Combine with simple maths for ages, deadlines, and “days remaining” columns: =B2-TODAY() where B2 is a due date.

11. TEXT — format numbers as readable text

=TEXT(B2, “$#,##0”) turns 12500 into “$12,500” inside a sentence or label. Useful in dashboards and automatic report lines like =”Total sales: “&TEXT(SUM(B2:B10), “$#,##0”).

12. IMPORTRANGE — pull data from another spreadsheet

=IMPORTRANGE(“spreadsheet-url”, “Sheet1!A1:C50”) brings a range from a different Sheets file into this one, live. The first time, Sheets asks you to grant access — click Allow. This is how small teams build one master sheet from many separate ones.

Three habits that prevent most formula errors

• Watch the error message. #N/A means “not found”, #DIV/0! means you divided by zero or an empty range, #REF! means a referenced cell was deleted. Sheets’ error help (click the small icon on the cell) explains each one in plain language.
• Check text versus numbers. A number stored as text will not SUM. If a total looks wrong, this is the first suspect.
• Lock ranges with $ when copying. =SUM($B$2:$B$10) keeps the range fixed as the formula moves — the same habit that matters in Excel.

Where to go next

Start with SUM, IF, and VLOOKUP — they cover most real work — then add FILTER and the IF-family (SUMIF, COUNTIF) as your sheets grow. Twelve formulas, learned properly, will take you further than skimming a hundred.