Custom formats: thousands as "K", negatives in brackets, dates

In this lesson

1. 1. Show thousands as K

   In Format Cells you can type your own format code.

   One comma at the end shows the number in thousands. 1250000 shows as 1,250K.

2. 2. What the comma does

   The comma only changes what you see. The value is still 1250000.

   Two commas show the number in millions.

3. 3. Negatives in brackets

   In finance, negative numbers are often shown in brackets.

   A format code can have two parts. The part before ; is for positive numbers. The part after is for negative numbers.

4. 4. Date formats

   Dates can also have a format code. dd is the day, mmm is the short month name and yyyy is the year.

   With this code, the date shows as 31-Mar-2026.

5. 5. Try it yourself

   Assets in B7 are 2500000.

Part of Excel Essentials. Short lessons with practice in a real spreadsheet, checked as you go.