Calculate running totals

Calculate running totals in Google Sheets — with the four heights of help laid out: do it now, make it easier for the next person to accept, work out the right move when you are stuck, and learn the pattern so it stops coming back.

4prompt heights
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The four heights

The same task, four distances: today's deadline, the next reviewer, the stuck moment, the pattern.

Execute — do the immediate task

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I have daily sales in column B and dates in column A on the sheet DailyRevenue. Add a running total…
I have daily sales in column B and dates in column A on the sheet DailyRevenue. Add a running total in column C that starts at the first date and accumulates by date. Fill down so the running total updates automatically when new rows are appended. Confirm the last cell in column C matches the sum of column B and put the running total header 'YTD Running Total' in C1.

Improve — make it easier to accept

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Before I send DailyRevenue to the CFO, make the running totals easy to scan. Put the running total…
Before I send DailyRevenue to the CFO, make the running totals easy to scan. Put the running total in column C with the header YTD Running Total, freeze the header row, highlight any date where the running total decreases in red, and add a one-line formula check at top showing that the last running total equals SUM of column B. Flag any rows that break the monotonic increase rule.

Decide — diagnose the stuck moment

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I inserted a running total in DailyRevenue but on a few dates the total drops. I don't know if…

I added a running total formula and some dates show decreases

I inserted a running total in DailyRevenue but on a few dates the total drops. I don't know if those are data errors, refunds that should be separate, or legitimate negative entries. The ops lead wants me to correct them before Friday. What's the quickest way to diagnose whether these are input errors versus valid negatives, and what should I present to ops so they can decide which policy to apply going forward?

Become — change the pattern

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Every month we spend time debugging why running totals in DailyRevenue drop unexpectedly. This…

We repeatedly troubleshoot running total discrepancies

Every month we spend time debugging why running totals in DailyRevenue drop unexpectedly. This costs analysts hours and annoys the CFO. Recommend one consistent intake rule and two checks we can enforce automatically on import so running totals remain audit-ready. Also suggest which colleague should own fixing exceptions and how to record the resolution in the sheet.

Next to this one

Other spreadsheet work people do in Google Sheets.

Every task here came from the work, not from a feature list — which is why the prompts name what you want done and never the button that does it. The tool changes; the work does not.
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