Forum Discussion
Check Register Not automatically adding or subtracting itemized transactions
It's actually kind of a stupid (excuse me please, whoever created this) formula in that template's column I, where the balance is calculated. Much more complicated than it needs to be, in that all it is saying, is
- IF you're in row 3 (i.e., the top row) then the balance is whatever is in cell $H$3 (where the creator placed an "opening balance",
- else, subtract the debit from the row above, or add the credit.
The formula has nothing at all to do with the date column.
Now, I don't know exactly what you did to "add February" -- IF you started a new page (which is NOT what you should do) -- that could explain it. What you should be doing is just continuing the register, entering check numbers and dates, descriptions, and a debit amount in the debit column, a credit amount in the credit column. It will continue to work.
OR, if you want to make it simpler, enter your starting balance in cell I3 (i.e., write over the formula that's in the cell with a number) and then use this formula in cell I4, copied to all succeeding rows.
=I3-G4+H4
See the attached file, where I've done that for you.
A quick postscript: Templates are often poorly designed (so I've observed) for use by beginners. This one for example, in that that formula, which really only was needed in its complexity for the first row, made things more complicated than it needed to be. I've seen worse, however, where the designer made use of hidden tables and the like, so it took detective work to figure out how to expand it. It looked sexy, but was of limited real use.
You might be better served by getting yourself a basic book (Excel for Dummies, despite the semi-insulting title, is actually pretty good; I've not use it, but have used some of the other books in the ".......for Dummies" series for software programs), and following the lessons there. A check register is in fact one of the easiest things to "do it yourself."