Forum Discussion

jojomartin845's avatar
jojomartin845
Occasional Reader
May 01, 2026

Put a specific word in a cell based on the word in another cell

Hey everyone, I need help automating the categorisation of my bank statement in excel. I do not have microsoft 365.  I want excel to look for specific words from my transactions eg Woolworths or McD...
excel
Excel on Mac
NikolinoDE's avatar
NikolinoDE
Platinum Contributor
May 02, 2026

You absolutely can do this without Microsoft 365, without array formulas, and without stress.

In cell D2, put this formula:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("WOOLWORTHS",C2)),"Groceries",IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("MCDONALDS",C2)),"Eating Out",IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("PRIME",C2)),"Streaming","")))

Then drag down column D.

How to add more rules

Just replace the final "" with another IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("WORD",C2)),"Category", and close with "" at the end.

Example with 5 rules:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("WOOLWORTHS",C2)),"Groceries",IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("MCDONALDS",C2)),"Eating Out",IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("PRIME",C2)),"Streaming",IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("AMAZON",C2)),"Shopping",""))))

 

friendly tip…

If a transaction doesn't match any word, the cell will stay blank. Just manually type the category for those few — or add another rule if you see a pattern.

 

My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

 

Hope this will help you.

 

Was the answer useful? Mark as best response and like it!

This will help all forum participants.