Md. Abdur Rahim Rasel
While working with large Microsoft Excel, sometimes we need to calculate percentages. Some percentage is positive whereas some are negative. We can denote the negative percentage as the percentage decreases. We can easily do that by using Excel formulas and VBA Macros also. This is an easy and time-saving task also. Today, in this article, we’ll learn two quick and suitable ways to calculate percentage decrease in Excel effectively with appropriate illustrations.
Download Practice Workbook
Download this practice workbook to exercise while you are reading this article.
Introduction to Percentage Decrease
While subtracting the second value from the first value, you will get the change between these two values. If the first value is less than the second value, you will get a decreased value.
Decrease = First value – Second Value
Then divide this decreased value by the first value and multiply by 100, you will get the percentage decreased.
Percentage Decreased = (Decrease / First value)*100%
2 Suitable Ways to Calculate Percentage Decrease in Excel
Let’s assume a scenario where we have an Excel file that contains information about various types of input numbers. From our dataset, we will calculate the percentage decrease by using the mathematical formula and VBA Macros also. Here’s an overview of the dataset for our today’s task.
1. Use Mathematical Formula to Calculate Percentage Decrease in Excel
We can easily calculate the percentage decrease by using the mathematical formula in excel. This is a time-saving way also. From our dataset, we will calculate the percentage decrease. Let’s follow the instructions below to calculate the percentage decrease!
Step 1:
- First of all, select cell D5.
- Hence, write down the below mathematical formula in the selected cell. The mathematical formula is,
=B5-C5
- Further, press ENTER on your keyboard and you will get -20 as the difference of the two values.
Step 2:
- After that, select cell E5 and type a new mathematical formula. The formula is,
=D5/B5
- After typing the mathematical formula, again press ENTER on your keyboard. As a result, you will get -0.40 as the output of the mathematical formula.
Step 3:
- we will conver the fraction value into percentage. To do that, from your Home tab, go to,
Home → Number → Percentage
- Finally, you will get your desired output in cell E5 which has been given in the below screenshot.
Read More: How to Calculate Percentage Increase in Excel (Examples with All Criteria)
Similar Readings
- How to Calculate Price Increase Percentage in Excel (3 Easy Ways)
- Show Percentage Change in Excel Graph (2 Ways)
- How to Calculate Percentage Change with Negative Numbers in Excel
- Calculate Percentage Increase from Zero in Excel (4 Methods)
- How to Calculate Average Percentage Increase for Marks in Excel Formula
2. Run a VBA Code to Calculate Percentage Decrease in Excel
Now I’ll show how to calculate percentage decrease in Excel by using a simple VBA code. It’s very helpful for some particular moments and a time-saving way also. From our dataset, we will calculate percentage decrease. Let’s follow the instructions below to calculate the percentage decrease!
Step 1:
- First of all, open a Module, to do that, firstly, from your Developer tab, go to,
Developer → Visual Basic
- After clicking on the Visual Basic ribbon, a window named Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications – Percentage Decrease will instantly appear in front of you. From that window, we will insert a module for applying our VBA code. To do that, go to,
Insert → Module
Step 2:
- Hence, the Percentage Decrease module pops up. In the Percentage Decrease module, write down the below VBA Code,
Sub Percentage_Decrease()
Worksheets("VBA").Range("D5").Value = "=(((B5-C5)/(B5))*100%)"
End Sub
- Further, run the VBA To do that, go to,
Run → Run Sub/UserForm
Step 3:
- After running the code, go back to your worksheet, you will be able to calculate the percentage decreased which has been given in the below screenshot.
Read More: How do you Calculate Percentage Increase or Decrease in Excel
Things to Remember
👉 #DIV/0! Error occurs when the denominator is zero(0).
👉 If a Developer tab is not visible in your ribbon, you can make it visible. To do that, go to,
File → Option → Customize Ribbon
👉 You can pop up Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window by pressing Alt + F11 simultaneously.
Conclusion
I hope all of the suitable methods mentioned above to calculate percentage decrease will now provoke you to apply them in your Excel spreadsheets with more productivity. You are most welcome to feel free to comment if you have any questions or queries.
