Works for Windows: Using Tax Rate Format Changes in Templates

The Sales Invoice, Service Invoice, Purchase Order, and Order Form templates allow you to type a tax rate. The tax rate cell is not formatted as a percentage; it is formatted as a general number. If you type a tax rate percentage, such as "7" (without the quotation marks), the Tax cell calculates the amount of tax based on that tax rate percentage.

However, if you type a percent sign with the value, such as "7%", the cell automatically changes the number format to percent. Additional entries into that cell are formatted as a percentage, so that 7 appears as 700%. Typing "7%" results in an incorrect tax amount.

Works automatically changes the number format of the cell if you type a percent sign after a number. Similarly, the number format changes to currency if you type "$7" or to a date format if you type "7/1/95".

Because templates usually have the Protect Data option selected, you can't immediately return the previous format. To turn off Protect Data, do the following:

1. Click the tax rate cell.
2. On the Format menu, click Protection.
3. Make sure the Protect Data box is checked. Click OK.
4. On the Format menu, click Number.
5. Click General. Click OK.
6. To turn the protection back on, do the following:
   1. On the Format menu, click Protection.
   2. Click Protect Data to place a check in the box. Click OK.

To change the invoice so that you always type the number as a percentage, you need to change the formula that calculates the tax. To change that formula, do the following:

1. Click the Tax cell.
2. Turn off Protect Data.
3. Change the formula so it doesn't divide the typed amount by 100. For example, in the Sales Invoice template, change the following formula,
   =IF(E47#AND#G46,E47/100*G46,"")
   to:
   =IF(E47#AND#G46,E47*G46,"")

Once the formatting in the Tax Rate cell is changed to a percentage and the calculation is modified, you can type the percentage value as either 7% or 0.07.

For more information about spreadsheet formulas, see page 162 of the "Microsoft Works User's Guide."

For more information about cell protection, see page 212 of the "Microsoft Works User's Guide."