Excel help please!

[Simon]

Can anyone help me with an Excel formula?  I'm making an invoice template for someone, and I need one column which will calculate an hourly rate, so that the user inputs a value (x many hours), and this value is automatically multiplied by a preset value (£ per hour), to produce a total in currency.  So, to clarify, I want a column that will work out that 10 hours at £10 per hour = £100, by just inputting the number 10 into the column.

 

[Rik]

Create a field for the labour charge, Simon, so that it can be changed as necessary, then just reference that as the multiplier from the hours column. Does that make sense?

[Simon]

In a word?  No.    But I've done it now, by creating extra columns.  I guess it might have been silly to hide inputted data, as if it was wrong at the end, you wouldn't know where to look!

[Rik]

What's in the extra columns?

[Inkblot]

Here's a simple calculation that does what I think you mean - you can change the rate or the hours and get the total, it could be made a lot fancier but I wanted to try and get in early on instead of finding that 10 people have posted in the time it takes me to reply

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[Rik]

 

[Simon]

Here's a simple calculation that does what I think you mean - you can change the rate or the hours and get the total, it could be made a lot fancier but I wanted to try and get in early on instead of finding that 10 people have posted in the time it takes me to reply

I know the feeling very well, Inky. 

Thanks for that, and that's basically what I did in the end.  I was looking for something that would do it all in one column, so that inputting '10' in column 'A' would turn into £100, also in column 'A', if it was 10 hours at £10 per hour, but I don't think it can be done that way.

[Rik]

It would be unwise to try, Simon, as you'd have no tracking of the time data.

[john]

...  I was looking for something that would do it all in one column, so that inputting '10' in column 'A' would turn into £100, also in column 'A', if it was 10 hours at £10 per hour, but I don't think it can be done that way.

If I understand what you are trying to do correctly it cannot be done. A particular cell can contain either a value or a formula (which displays it's results in the cell) but I can't see how inputting a value into a cell containing a formula will be treated as a variable in the formula.

[Simon]

So, basically, one cell can't make a calculation within itself, without another cell, yes?

[Rik]

Yes. Regard each cell as a field within a database. It can be processed, but not within itself.

[Simon]

Good, thanks.