Borders and background colors in Google Sheets - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are an office assistant managing a monthly expense report.

📋 Request: Your manager wants the expense report to be easy to read by adding borders around each category and highlighting high expenses in red background.

📊 Data: You have a table with expense categories, amounts spent, and dates for the current month.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a formatted expense report with borders around each category row and red background color for expenses over $500.

Sample Data

Category	Amount	Date
Office Supplies	150	2024-06-01
Travel	600	2024-06-03
Meals	200	2024-06-05
Software	800	2024-06-07
Utilities	300	2024-06-10
Training	450	2024-06-12
Travel	700	2024-06-15
Meals	100	2024-06-18

1

Step 1: Select the entire data range including headers (A1:C9).

No formula needed; just select cells A1 to C9.

Expected Result

Cells A1 to C9 are selected.

2

Step 2: Add borders around each row to separate categories clearly.

Use the toolbar: Click Borders icon > Select 'All borders'.

Expected Result

Each cell in the range A1:C9 has borders on all sides.

3

Step 3: Highlight expenses over $500 with a red background color.

Select range B2:B9, then go to Format > Conditional formatting. Set the rule: Format cells if 'Greater than' 500. Choose red fill color. Click Done.

Expected Result

Cells B2, B4, and B7 have red background because their amounts are 600, 800, and 700 respectively.

4

Step 4: Make the header row bold and add a light gray background for clarity.

Select A1:C1, click Bold icon, then Format > Fill color > choose light gray.

Expected Result

Header row text is bold and background is light gray.

Final Result

-------------------------------------
| Category       | Amount | Date     |
-------------------------------------
| Office Supplies|  150   |2024-06-01|
-------------------------------------
| Travel         |  600*  |2024-06-03|
-------------------------------------
| Meals          |  200   |2024-06-05|
-------------------------------------
| Software       |  800*  |2024-06-07|
-------------------------------------
| Utilities      |  300   |2024-06-10|
-------------------------------------
| Training       |  450   |2024-06-12|
-------------------------------------
| Travel         |  700*  |2024-06-15|
-------------------------------------
| Meals          |  100   |2024-06-18|
-------------------------------------
* Cells with red background indicating amount > $500

✓Borders make each expense category row easy to distinguish.

✓Red background highlights high expenses over $500 for quick review.

✓Bold headers with gray background improve table readability.

Bonus Challenge

Add a total expenses row at the bottom with a thick top border and yellow background.

Show Hint

Use SUM formula for total in Amount column and apply border and fill color formatting to the total row.