LOL... Your postings just popped up on my newsreader and they crossed with
an afterthought posting of mine in which I proposed the same formula as you
did (but I qualified the suggestion asking the OP to consider what the
values should really be if $B5 is blank).

--
Rick (MVP - Excel)


"JoeU2004" wrote in message
...
"Rick Rothstein" wrote:
If I understand what you want correctly, put this formula in Column D
(note the D)...
=IF($B5="",0,$C5-$B5)

A better solution than mine insofar as it kills two birds with one stone.

But there are still problems with the Chris's computations. The following
problems remain (numbered based on my previous reply):

2. The formula in E5 is nonsensical based on the difference computed in
D5. (D5 is the right difference to compute, IMHO.)

3. Forecast and actual, which are revenue, can be negative (loss), zero
(break even) as well as positive (profit). Why not fix the formula in E5
to accommodate all possibilities?


----- original message -----

"Rick Rothstein" wrote in message
...
If I understand what you want correctly, put this formula in Column D
(note the D)...

=IF($B5="",0,$C5-$B5)

--
Rick (MVP - Excel)


"Chris Cullen" wrote in message
...
The table:
Column A: Product Group (Verical Axis list)
Column B: Forecasted Revenue
Column C: Actual Revenue
Column D: Difference (=$C5-$B5)
Column E: % Change (=$D5/$C5)


So when there is a value in Column B (a forecasted revenue for that
category) I am all set in Column E.

What I need to know is what formula to insert to allow for categories
that
do not have a forecasted revenue - in this case I want the value in
Column E
to be 0%.

Thanks for any help