Jan,

Try this

=SUM(SMALL(IF(A1:A20<0,A1:A20),ROW(1:12)))

It is an array formula, so commit with Ctrl-Shift-Enter

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HTH

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Bob Phillips
"jan jan" <jan wrote in message
...
how can I summarize the 12 smallest numbers in a column of 20 numbers
WITHOUT
the cells that contain a 0.