As you said "hours" actually worked, rather than "time" actually worked, you
could switch your data to hours, which is just a number to Excel. Multiply
cell1 and cell2 by 24. That will convert the time to hours. Now cell3 can
show the hours as either negative or positive.

Regards,
Fred

"Dale" wrote in message
...
Hi

By using the [h]:mm format, I've added two cell values together. While
the result shown in the third cell is the total number of hours and
minutes of the first two cells which is what I want it to show, I would
also like it to show a negative value if and when necessary but all I see
is #####.

Cell 1 = hours normally worked
Cell 2 = hours actually worked
Cell 3 = balance (c3=c2-c1)

How can I get the third cell to show negative as well as positive hours
and minutes?

I am using excel 2007 but needs it to be 2003 compatible

Any suggestions please would be appreciated

Thanks

Dale