Boolean logic is a great tool for simplifying formulas, especially those with many IF statements.
So, to start off, what’s a Boolean?
A Boolean is a data key in with only two possible values, TRUE or FALSE.
You’ll often see Boolean results or Boolean expressions in Excel.
This is a Boolean expressionor logical statementthat returns either TRUE or FALSE.
If I copy the formula down, we’ll get a Boolean result for every number in the list.
So, how can you use Boolean logic in Excel?
Let’s look at a simple example.
Here we have a list of salespeople and sales numbers.
Let’s say they get a bonus of $500 if they exceed $10,000 in sales.
But how could we use Boolean logic instead?
Well, sales greater than $10,000 is a logical expression that returns either TRUE or FALSE.
We got rid of anIF statement.
But perhaps it seems silly just to get rid of a single IF statement.
So let’s add a little complexity to the formula.
Let’s assume there is a special bonus of $250 for sales over $12,000.
Excel simply runs the calculation and returns the result.
That’s the gist of Boolean logic.
It can be a great way to unwind and simplifycomplex formulas.
