Apple documents MIN(value, value…): the first value is required and may be a number or a collection of values, such as a range; value… means zero or more additional values or collections may follow. A range is not a text string. Enter its cell reference without quotation marks.

=MIN(value, value…)

You can pass separated values, e.g. =MIN(7, 4, 12) → 4, or one range, e.g. =MIN(B2:B8). Apple permits numerical, date/time or duration collections, but date/time and duration values cannot be mixed with other value types in the same evaluation. Text or booleans in referenced cells do not participate in the minimum; Apple specifically says not to enter those types directly as function arguments. A cell showing 35 as text does not necessarily participate like numeric 35.

Source: Apple’s MIN syntax and type rules.

1. Create a new spreadsheet and add or rename a table Orders. Make the first row its header row.
2. Add three columns with the headers Order ID, Amount (CAD), and Region in A1, B1 and C1.
3. Enter the following seven records in A2:C8. Type pending as plain text in B7. Leave B8 genuinely empty (do not type the words “empty” or 0).
4. Set B2:B6 to Number or Currency so these five entries are numeric cells. Place every result formula in a separate result cell, for example E2, in the same Orders table.

Why this matters: B2:B6 contains exactly five numbers (120, 75, 90, 115, 35). B7 is text and B8 is blank; these are deliberately different cases. A2:A8 contains seven nonempty text order IDs. The worked answers below are independent calculations for this particular table, not screenshots or claims of a Numbers execution.

1. After entering the Orders dataset above, select E2 in Orders (or another blank result cell).
2. Type and confirm:

=MIN(B2:B8)

Expected result: 35. The five numeric cells are 120, 75, 90, 115, 35. pending in B7 is text and B8 is blank, so neither supplies a smaller numeric amount. If the cell is formatted as Canadian currency, the display may be $35.00 while the underlying number remains 35.

=MIN(120,75,90,115,35)
=MIN(B2:B4)

Expected results: 35 and 75, respectively. The first expression uses five literal numbers; the second examines only B2, B3 and B4 (120, 75, 90). Restricting the range can easily miss later low values, such as B6.

MIN itself does not apply criteria. Apple’s separately documented MINIFS evaluates a candidate numeric range against a matching criteria range. Restrict the source rows to 2–6 here, so only completed numeric Amounts are considered.

=MINIFS(B2:B6,C2:C6,"West")

Expected result: 75 (West entries 75 and 115; the minimum is 75). Apple’s MINIFS reference specifies the candidate range first, followed by criteria-range, criteria. The two ranges must be equal in size. For a genuinely unmatched label, for example "North", Apple explicitly states that MINIFS returns 0; do not read that as proof there was a real zero-valued order.

Read: Apple MINIFS — argument order, equal-range rule and no-match result.

• Unexpectedly low/high minimum: Recheck the exact last row. B2:B4 excludes B5/B6. For our data it gives 75, not 35.
• Imported 35 is skipped: Verify B6 is a number, not a text string; use numeric formatting or correct the import. Simply making the text look like currency is not proof of a numeric type.
• All cells are blank or nonnumeric: MIN would not supply a meaningful smallest amount for this business question. Before interpreting a result, verify your data with =COUNT(B2:B8); in our sample, expected COUNT is 5. Do not assume empty-only behavior without a native test.
• Date/time or durations mixed with numbers: Apple requires homogeneous types if date/time or duration values are present. Split the inputs into type-consistent collections.
• Need lowest value for a region: Use MINIFS, not MIN, and check for the documented no-match result of zero.
• Formula shows an error: Recheck punctuation, parentheses, cell-reference resolution, source type and input-range boundaries. Exact Numbers error display/code requires a native run; none is asserted here.

Apple’s English syntax uses commas between arguments. If your decimal separator is a comma, Apple’s Functions overview instructs you to type semicolons between function arguments instead. The one-range formulas here need no argument separator. To reference a different table, use Numbers’ explicit Orders::B2:B8-style reference when needed; from another sheet, Numbers can use Sheet Name::Orders::B2:B8. Select cells in the formula editor if a table or sheet name needs quoting or the name is ambiguous. Excel-style Orders!B2:B8 is not the equivalent Numbers syntax.

Official evidence: Functions overview and Refer to cells in formulas.

The function name and basic purpose also exist in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, but do not paste a cross-table reference unchanged: Numbers uses table-qualified forms such as Orders::B2:B8, whereas Excel and Sheets typically qualify worksheet references differently. Argument separator requirements depend on the application and locale. Numbers also documents date/time and duration input rules; do not presume that another application accepts or displays those mixed types in precisely the same way. Check the destination application’s behaviour with representative data before migrating a workbook.

• COUNTIF — count matching order statuses
• COUNTIFS — count records passing multiple tests
• SUMIFS — add amounts subject to multiple criteria
• Related guides: MIN, MAX, and COUNT.

• Apple MIN function reference — definition, exact signature, optional repeated values, text/boolean handling, date-time/duration restriction.
• Apple Functions overview — syntax typography, required/optional arguments, regional separators.
• Apple cell and table references — local ranges and Table::Cell/Sheet::Table::Cell forms.
• Apple Formulas and Functions Help — documented in-app Functions Browser context.
• Apple MINIFS reference — filtered minima and documented 0 result for no matching criterion.

• Apple Numbers — function documentation
• Apple MINIFS
• Functions overview
• Refer to cells in formulas
• Apple Formulas and Functions Help

Verification status: Official documentation checked; example outcomes were independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where applicable. Not executed in Apple Numbers.

• No genuine Apple Numbers screenshots are included; this guide does not use mock application images.