Conditional formatting basics in Google Sheets - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a sales assistant at a retail store.

📋 Request: Your manager wants you to highlight sales figures that are below the target to quickly spot areas needing attention.

📊 Data: You have a list of sales amounts for different products in a table.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a sheet where sales below the target of $500 are highlighted in red.

Sample Data

Product	Sales ($)
Apples	450
Bananas	520
Cherries	480
Dates	600
Elderberries	300
Figs	700
Grapes	490

1

Step 1: Select the sales amount cells from B2 to B8.

No formula needed for selection.

Expected Result

Cells B2:B8 are selected.

2

Step 2: Open the Conditional Formatting menu from the Format tab.

No formula needed.

Expected Result

Conditional Formatting sidebar appears.

3

Step 3: Set the rule to format cells if 'Less than' 500.

Condition: Cell value < 500

Expected Result

Rule is set to highlight cells with values less than 500.

4

Step 4: Choose the fill color red for the formatting style.

Format style: Fill color red

Expected Result

Cells with sales below 500 will be highlighted in red.

5

Step 5: Click 'Done' to apply the conditional formatting.

No formula needed.

Expected Result

Cells B2, B4, B5, and B8 with sales below 500 are highlighted in red.

Final Result

red

↓

red

↓

red

↓

red

✓Sales below $500 are clearly highlighted in red.

✓Products Apples, Cherries, Elderberries, and Grapes need attention.

Bonus Challenge

Add a second conditional formatting rule to highlight sales above $650 in green.

Show Hint

Use 'Greater than' 650 as the condition and choose green fill color.