Question

in this spreadsheet, expenses are listed in column a and their amounts are in column b. small business expenses
expense type amount
1 rent $2,000.00
2 liability insurance $350.00
3 property insurance $250.00
4 books and supplies $1,000.00
5 wages $4,200.00
6 utilities $500.00
7 health insurance $500.00
8 workers compensation insurance $50.00
9 advertising $300.00
10 office supplies $50.00
11 social security and medicare taxes $150.00
12 total fixed expenses (formula)
13 total variable expenses (formula)
14 total monthly expenses (formula)
which formula would you use in cell b14 to calculate the total variable expenses?
=sum(b5:b7)+sum(b10:b11)
=sum(b5:b7,b10:b12)
=sum(b5:b11)
=b5 + b6 + b7 + b11

Explanation:

Step1: Identify variable - expense items

Variable - expense items are those that change with the level of business activity. In the given list, assume wages (B5), utilities (B6), health insurance (B7), advertising (B10), and office supplies (B11) are variable expenses.

Step2: Select the correct formula for summing

To calculate the total variable expenses in cell B14, we need to sum up the amounts in the cells corresponding to variable - expense items. The correct formula is to sum the ranges for these items. The formula =SUM(B5:B7)+SUM(B10:B11) first sums the amounts in cells B5 - B7 (wages, utilities, health insurance) and then sums the amounts in cells B10 - B11 (advertising, office supplies) and adds these two sums together.

Answer:

=SUM(B5:B7)+SUM(B10:B11)