# Accounting Number Format in Excel – How to Apply it to Selected Cells

> Originally published for [freeCodeCamp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/accounting-number-format-in-excel-how-to-apply-it-to-selected-cells/)

In this article I will show you how to format cells in Microsoft Excel. We'll be looking particularly at the `Accounting` format for cells with numbers.

At the end of the article I'll give you two bonuses: a short video walkthrough of the methods we go over, as well as a breakdown of the differences between the `Accounting` format and the `Currency` format.

![Excel screenshot with differently formatted columns of numbers](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/2023/01/currency-vs-accounting.png align="left")

We'll go over these three primary ways to format cells in Excel, and how to use each one to add the `Accounting` format to cells.

1. Point and click on Home Tab in Ribbon
    
2. Ctrl + 1 opens format cells window
    
3. Keyboard Combos
    

## **Easy Mode: Point and Click**

As with most things in Excel, you can indeed simply select the cell(s) you'd like to apply the `Accounting` format to and click the appropriate selection.

Select the Home tab from the toolbar at the top. The formatting options are found in the Number section on the Ribbon.

The `Accounting` format actually has its own shortcut button marked by the dollar sign.

![Excel screenshot of Ribbon](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/2023/01/ribbon.png align="left")

You may also select the drop-down menu to see the list of options:

![Excel screenshot of number format options](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/2023/01/image-25.png align="left")

![easy as that gif](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/2023/01/easy.gif align="left")

## **How to Use the Format Cell Menu**

The selections above included the most common number formats, but you can also open the full Format Cells window by clicking the arrow in the bottom right corner of the Number section on the Ribbon.

![Excel screenshot of format cell menu selection](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/2023/01/arrow.png align="left")

As with all good things in computer life, there is also a shortcut to open the Format cell menu.

Press `CTRL + 1` to open the full menu.

![Excel screenshot of Format Cells menu](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/2023/01/image-27.png align="left")

From here you can again select the `Accounting` format and also adjust additional options like what type of money symbol and how many decimal places to use.

## **How to Use the Keyboard Combo**

Excel includes keyboard combos for every imaginable action. In many cases this can save time spent searching for and clicking the buttons on the Ribbon.

Keyboard combos start by pressing the `ALT` key. As soon as you press it, you'll see a ton of letters pop up on the toolbar and Ribbon.

![Excel screenshot of ALT keyboard combo letters in Ribbon](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/2023/01/image-28.png align="left")

The Keyboard Combo for `Accounting` Format is `ALT, H,AN`:

![image-30](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/2023/01/image-30.png align="left")

And after you press those buttons (one after the other), you'll have selected the drop-down for `Accounting` format. The most commonly used currency symbols are displayed. `ENTER` will select the English dollar sign, or you can arrow down to another selection.

You can see from the screenshot above that you can also press the combo `ALT,H,FM` to open the full Format Cells window.

The keyboard combos offer the most nimble way to access operations and menus in Excel. Learning the ones you'll use most often can greatly improve your productivity.

As promised, here's an overview video walking through the topics I've discussed in this article:

## **Video Walkthrough**

%[https://youtu.be/o_cNy4JPXCA] 

## **Accounting vs Currency Format**

So, why use `Accounting` format? Isn't it just formatting the numbers with dollar signs?

That's a half truth. Yes, it adds a dollar sign, but so does the `Currency` format. If we open up the Format Cells window again by pressing `CTRL + 1`, we'll see that the main difference is one of alignment.

The `Currency` format is used for "general monetary values" and puts the dollar sign directly in front of the left-most number. The `Accounting` format, on the other hand, lines up both the dollar sign as well as the decimal in the column of numbers.

In terms of formatting, `Currency` will also give you options for how to display negative numbers. But in the `Accounting` format, the negative numbers will always be displayed within parenthesis.

![Format cells menu in Excel](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/2023/01/currency-options.png align="left")

## **Thanks for reading!**

I hope this has been helpful for you.

Come find me on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@eamonncottrell) where I'm growing my coding and spreadsheet tutorial channel. And come follow and say hey over on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/eamonncottrell/). 👋

Have a great one!