Numbers function
ABS
How big, ignoring the sign.
Purpose
Ask how big a difference is without caring which way it went
Returns
The number with any minus sign removed
Syntax
=ABS(number)
| Argument | Required | What goes here |
|---|---|---|
number | Required | The figure whose size you want, over or under. |
How to use ABS
ABS returns the size of a number and drops the sign.
In accounting it belongs to reconciliation. A control account tie-out asks whether the difference is nought, and the answer is the same size whether the ledger is over or under.
It is also how a variance report gets sorted by how much something moved rather than by direction, and how a tolerance test is written once instead of twice.
Examples
Every result below is worked out by the same evaluator that marks your answers, on the sheet shown here.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date | Account | Description | Debit | Credit |
| 2 | 2026-10-02 | 6100 | Professional fees | 1500 | 0 |
| 3 | 2026-10-05 | 2100 | Trade payables | 0 | 1500 |
| 4 | 2026-10-09 | 6200 | Travel and subsistence | 320 | 0 |
| 5 | 2026-10-14 | 2100 | Trade payables | 0 | 320 |
| 6 | 2026-10-18 | 6100 | Professional fees | 2750 | 0 |
| 7 | 2026-10-23 | 2100 | Trade payables | 0 | 2750 |
| 8 | 2026-11-02 | 6300 | Office supplies | 184 | 0 |
| 9 | 2026-11-02 | 2100 | Trade payables | 0 | 184 |
| Formula | Result |
|---|---|
=ABS(SUM(D2:D9)-SUM(E2:E9))Does the journal balance. Nought is the only answer worth having, and ABS means you do not have to know which side is heavier to ask. | 0 |
=ABS(D2-E3)One side of an entry against the other. | 0 |
=IF(ABS(SUM(D2:D9)-SUM(E2:E9))<1,"Balances","Check the journal")A tolerance written once. Without ABS this test needs two comparisons to cover both directions. | Balances |
Notes
- ABS on a difference hides the direction. Keep the signed figure alongside it if anyone has to act on which way it went.
Related
Practise ABS in Unit 18
A reference tells you what it does. A unit makes you use it.