Subtotals in Excel - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Subtotals

Dashboard Goal

Show total sales and subtotals by Region and Product Category to understand which areas and products perform best.

Sample Data

Region	Product Category	Sales
East	Furniture	100
East	Office Supplies	150
East	Technology	200
West	Furniture	120
West	Office Supplies	180
West	Technology	220
South	Furniture	130
South	Office Supplies	170

Dashboard Components

• Total Sales: A KPI card showing total sales.
  Formula: =SUBTOTAL(9,C2:C9)
  Result: 1270
• Sales by Region: A subtotal table showing sales grouped by Region.
  Formula: Use Excel's Subtotal feature or formula:
  =SUBTOTAL(9, C2:C4) for East,
  =SUBTOTAL(9, C5:C7) for West,
  =SUBTOTAL(9, C8:C9) for South.
  Results:
  East: 450
  West: 520
  South: 300
• Sales by Product Category: A subtotal table showing sales grouped by Product Category.
  Formula example for Furniture:
  =SUMIF(B2:B9, "Furniture", C2:C9)
  Results:
  Furniture: 350
  Office Supplies: 500
  Technology: 420

Dashboard Layout

+----------------+-----------------------+
| Total Sales    | Sales by Region       |
| (KPI Card)     | (Subtotal Table)      |
+----------------+-----------------------+
| Sales by Product Category Subtotal Table |
+------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

Add a filter for Region. When you select a specific region, the Sales by Product Category table updates to show sales only for that region. The Total Sales and Sales by Region components also update to reflect the filtered data.

Self Check

If you add a filter to show only the East region, which components update and what are their new values?

• Total Sales: Updates to 450
• Sales by Region: Shows only East with 450
• Sales by Product Category: Shows East region sales:
  Furniture: 100
  Office Supplies: 150
  Technology: 200

Key Result

Dashboard showing total sales and subtotals by Region and Product Category with filtering.

Practice

1. What does the SUBTOTAL function do in Excel?

easy

A. Calculates sums, averages, counts, and other operations on filtered or grouped data

B. Sorts data alphabetically or numerically

C. Removes duplicates from a list

D. Creates charts from selected data

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of SUBTOTAL

   The SUBTOTAL function is designed to perform calculations like sum, average, or count on a range of data, especially useful when data is filtered or grouped.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   Sorting, removing duplicates, and creating charts are different Excel features unrelated to SUBTOTAL.

3. Final Answer:

   Calculates sums, averages, counts, and other operations on filtered or grouped data -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   SUBTOTAL = Group calculations [OK]

Hint: SUBTOTAL works on filtered data for accurate group totals [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing SUBTOTAL with sorting or filtering
• Thinking SUBTOTAL removes duplicates
• Assuming SUBTOTAL creates charts

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax for the SUBTOTAL function to sum values in range A2:A10?

easy

A. =SUBTOTAL(1, A2:A10)

B. =SUBTOTAL(109, A2:A10)

C. =SUBTOTAL(9, A2:A10)

D. =SUBTOTAL(10, A2:A10)

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify function number for SUM

   In SUBTOTAL, function number 9 means SUM including hidden rows, while 109 means SUM ignoring hidden rows.

2. Step 2: Choose correct syntax for basic sum

   Since the question does not specify ignoring hidden rows, 9 is the standard function number for SUM.

3. Final Answer:

   =SUBTOTAL(9, A2:A10) -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   SUM function number = 9 [OK]

Hint: Use 9 for SUM in SUBTOTAL unless ignoring hidden rows [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 1 which is for AVERAGE
• Using 10 which is for COUNT
• Confusing 9 and 109 without context

3. Given the data in cells A2:A6 as {10, 20, 30, 40, 50} and rows 4 and 5 are manually hidden, what is the result of =SUBTOTAL(9, A2:A6)?

medium

A. 90

B. 60

C. 100

D. 150

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand SUBTOTAL with function number 9

   Function 9 sums visible and hidden rows, so it includes all values including manually hidden rows.

2. Step 2: Calculate sum of all values

   Sum of 10+20+30+40+50 = 150, but since rows 4 and 5 (values 40 and 50) are manually hidden, SUBTOTAL(9, ...) still includes them.

3. Step 3: Reconsider filtering effect

   Actually, SUBTOTAL with 9 includes manually hidden rows, so sum is 150. But question says rows 4 and 5 are manually hidden. SUBTOTAL(9, ...) includes hidden rows, so sum is 150.

4. Step 4: Check options

   150 is the total sum. 60 is sum of visible rows only (10+20+30=60).

5. Final Answer:

   150 -> Option D

6. Quick Check:

   SUBTOTAL(9) sums all rows including hidden [OK]

Hint: Function 9 sums all rows, even hidden ones [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming manually hidden rows are excluded with function 9
• Confusing function 9 with 109
• Adding only visible rows mistakenly

4. You want to sum only visible rows in range B2:B10, but your formula =SUBTOTAL(9, B2:B10) includes hidden rows. How do you fix it?

medium

A. Add a filter to the data

B. Change function number to 109: =SUBTOTAL(109, B2:B10)

C. Use =SUM(B2:B10) instead

D. Use =SUBTOTAL(1, B2:B10)

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand difference between function numbers 9 and 109

   Function 9 sums all rows including hidden, while 109 sums only visible rows, ignoring manually hidden rows.

2. Step 2: Fix formula to sum visible rows only

   Change function number from 9 to 109 to exclude hidden rows in the sum.

3. Final Answer:

   Change function number to 109: =SUBTOTAL(109, B2:B10) -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Use 109 to sum visible rows only [OK]

Hint: Use 109 to exclude hidden rows in SUBTOTAL sum [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using SUM which ignores filtering
• Using function number 1 which is AVERAGE
• Thinking adding a filter fixes formula automatically

5. You have sales data in column C with some rows filtered out and some manually hidden. You want to calculate the average sales of only visible rows and also count how many visible sales entries there are. Which formulas should you use?

hard

A. =SUBTOTAL(101, C2:C100) for average and =SUBTOTAL(103, C2:C100) for count

B. =SUBTOTAL(1, C2:C100) for average and =SUBTOTAL(2, C2:C100) for count

C. =AVERAGE(C2:C100) and =COUNT(C2:C100)

D. =SUBTOTAL(109, C2:C100) for average and =SUBTOTAL(110, C2:C100) for count

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify function numbers for average and count excluding hidden rows

   Function numbers 101 and 103 calculate average and count respectively, ignoring hidden rows.

2. Step 2: Confirm formulas for visible rows only

   Using =SUBTOTAL(101, C2:C100) gives average of visible rows; =SUBTOTAL(103, C2:C100) counts visible numeric entries.

3. Final Answer:

   =SUBTOTAL(101, C2:C100) for average and =SUBTOTAL(103, C2:C100) for count -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   101 = average visible, 103 = count visible [OK]

Hint: Use 101 for average and 103 for count on visible rows [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 1 and 2 which include hidden rows
• Using AVERAGE and COUNT ignoring filters
• Confusing function numbers 109 and 110 which are for SUM and COUNT ignoring hidden rows