The Excel IF statement is a fundamental formula to know if you want to become an advanced Excel user.
It is covered extensively in the free Excel fundamentals course we offer with associated video clips and example files but the basics are as follows. We also have a new Excel Beginner course available.
IF allows you to set up a conditional result. So IF something is true Excel must do one thing, otherwise it must do something else. Visually the diagram below shows how the IF would work to determine what interest rate should be applied to a bank balance.
IF the bank balance is greater than 0 (positive balance) then we earn interest at 6%. If the bank balance is NOT greater than zero (by implication a negative) then we get charged 10% on the overdraft.
With this, Excel can now adjust a calculation depending on a condition. As bank balances change from positive to negative the formula will adjust from using 6% to 10%.
For a more comprehensive IF explanation with exercises look at the fundamentals course