The ROUND function rounds a number to a specified number of decimal places. This guide explains how ROUND works and includes practical examples you can use immediately.
WHAT THE ROUND FUNCTION DOES
ROUND formats numbers to a specific precision by following standard rounding rules: values 5 and above round up, values below 5 round down. It's commonly used for currency formatting, reporting precision, or cleaning up floating-point calculation results.
WHEN TO USE ROUND
- You want to display cleaner, more readable numbers
- You're working with currency and need exactly 2 decimal places
- You need to round calculations for reporting or presentation
- You want to avoid floating-point precision errors
FORMULA SYNTAX
ROUND(number, num_digits)| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
number | The number you want to round |
num_digits | Number of decimal places (positive for decimals, negative for whole numbers) |
EXAMPLE 1: ROUND PRICES TO 2 DECIMAL PLACES
We want to round calculated prices to standard currency format.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Price | Rounded |
| 2 | Coffee | 4.567 | =ROUND(B2,2) |
| 3 | Sandwich | 8.234 | =ROUND(B3,2) |
| 4 | Juice | 3.999 | =ROUND(B4,2) |
=ROUND(B2,2)Result: Coffee: 4.57, Sandwich: 8.23, Juice: 4.00
Need help applying this? Try this in Numstro Builder
EXAMPLE 2: ROUND TO NEAREST HUNDRED
We want to round large numbers to the nearest hundred for simplified reporting.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sales | Rounded |
| 2 | 12,347 | =ROUND(A2,-2) |
| 3 | 8,952 | =ROUND(A3,-2) |
| 4 | 15,678 | =ROUND(A4,-2) |
=ROUND(A2,-2)Result: 12,300, 9,000, 15,700 (negative digits round to left of decimal)
Need help applying this? Try this in Numstro Builder
COMMON MISTAKES & EDGE CASES
- Positive num_digits round after decimal point (2 = hundredths)
- Negative num_digits round before decimal point (-1 = tens, -2 = hundreds)
- Zero num_digits rounds to nearest whole number
- ROUND follows "round half up" rule: 2.5 becomes 3, -2.5 becomes -3
- Use ROUNDUP or ROUNDDOWN for specific directional rounding
RELATED FUNCTIONS
FURTHER READING
Official Microsoft documentation:
ROUND — Microsoft Support