formula-builder · Generator
Write an Excel formula from a plain-English description
Describe the calculation in your own words and get a formula for Excel and Google Sheets with each part explained. Paste a formula to have it explained instead.
- Lookups, conditional sums, dates, text splitting, arrays
- No upload — you describe the layout
Sheet: Sales Row 1 is headers, data runs 2:5000 A Date B Region C Rep D Amount "Total the Amount for the North region for March 2026 only. Start and end dates are in G1 and G2."
Excel and Google Sheets (identical):
=SUMIFS(D2:D5000, B2:B5000, "North",
A2:A5000, ">="&$G$1,
A2:A5000, "<="&$G$2)
Argument by argument
D2:D5000 the numbers being added
B2:B5000 first range tested
"North" must match it exactly
A2:A5000 second range tested
">="&$G$1 on or after the start date
A2:A5000 third range tested
"<="&$G$2 on or before the end date
Notes
$G$1 and $G$2 are locked so the
formula can be copied across columns.
G1 and G2 must hold real dates, not
text that looks like a date.
Criteria are combined with AND, so a
row counts only if all three hold.
Worked example
Row 118 2026-03-14 North Ito 1,240
counted
Row 119 2026-03-14 South Ito 980
skipped, region
Row 120 2026-04-02 North Vidal 1,100
skipped, date
Sample total across 2:5000 = 48,310
Check this against a filtered view of
three or four rows before you trust it.One clear job, from sentence to working cell
- 1
Describe the sheet and the question
Name the columns and the rows your data occupies, then say what you want calculated. Column letters matter more than anything else here, because the formula is written against them. If you are going the other way, paste the formula instead and skip to the explanation.
- 2
Read the formula and its parts
The formula comes back with each argument on its own line and a short note on what it does. Where Excel and Google Sheets need different functions, you get both, with the reason for the split stated rather than left for you to find.
- 3
Paste it in and check a few rows
Copy the version for your app into the cell. Then verify it: filter the sheet by hand for two or three cases and confirm the number matches. The tool never sees your file, so this step is the only thing standing between a plausible formula and a correct one.
Writing and reading spreadsheet formulas in plain words
What you describe
You describe the sheet and the calculation in your own words. Name the columns, the rows your data occupies and what you want calculated, because the formula is written against those column letters. You can also paste an existing formula to have it explained. The tool runs in your browser, is free and has no job limit. It never sees your file, only the description you type.
What you get back and how to check it
You get the formula with each argument on its own line and a short note on what it does. Where Excel and Google Sheets need different functions, you get both versions with the reason for the split. Paste the version for your app into the cell. Then filter the sheet by hand for two or three cases and confirm the number matches before you rely on it.
Versions and assumptions you control
Say which Excel version you use and the answer stays inside it. XLOOKUP, FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE and spilled arrays need Microsoft 365 or Excel 2021. On Excel 2019 or earlier you get an INDEX and MATCH equivalent. The tool cannot see whether your dates are real dates or text, whether keys have trailing spaces or where your data really ends. Those checks stay with you.
Questions before you run it
Does it write formulas for Google Sheets as well as Excel?
Both, side by side. Most of the time the two are identical, so you get one formula and a note saying it works in either. Where they differ you get two versions: Sheets has FILTER, QUERY, ARRAYFORMULA and TEXTJOIN with different behaviour, while Excel has LET, LAMBDA and its own dynamic array rules. Separators also differ between locales, and the output tells you which one it used.
Can it explain a formula I already have?
Yes, that is the second mode. Paste the formula, add a sentence about what the sheet holds if you can, and you get a breakdown of each argument, the order the parts are evaluated in, and a plain sentence describing what the whole thing returns. Nested formulas are unwrapped one level at a time from the inside out.
Will the formula work in older versions of Excel?
Say which version you are on and the answer stays inside it. XLOOKUP, FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE and spilled arrays need Microsoft 365 or Excel 2021. On Excel 2019 or earlier you get an INDEX and MATCH equivalent, and array formulas that need Ctrl+Shift+Enter are marked as such. Without a version stated, the output assumes a current build and says so.
How is this different from the Formula Risk Auditor?
This page is about one formula: writing it from a description, or reading one back to you. The Spreadsheet Formula Risk Auditor takes a whole workbook and flags patterns that tend to break later, such as hard-coded numbers inside formulas, ranges that stop short of the last row, and inconsistent formulas within a column. Use this tool while you build, the auditor once the file exists.
Do I need to upload my spreadsheet?
No, and it never sees your data. You describe the layout in words, for example that dates sit in column A and amounts in column D starting at row 2, and the formula is written against that description. That is also the limitation worth knowing: if the real sheet differs from what you described, the formula will be wrong, so check the result against a few rows you can verify by hand.