Gnumeric · Getting started · Beginner
Build and Check Your First Expense Workbook in Gnumeric
Build a small Gnumeric expense workbook, check line amounts and budget balance, then save, reopen and verify a reversible input change.
Documentation and source-backed procedure; independent fixture checks; native verification pending · Editorial standards
Create a workbook you can check without trusting its displayed total. This lesson follows the entire small task: enter expenses, calculate line amounts, compare the total with a budget, and verify the saved file.
Create the sheet and enter four expenses
Choose File → New. A new window is not yet a saved file. Use its first worksheet and enter the following table in A1:C5, one cell at a time. Click the target cell, type its entry and press Enter; Tab commits an entry and moves right. Use your locale’s decimal separator for the prices.
| Item | Quantity | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|
| Notebooks | 3 | 4.50 |
| Pens | 5 | 1.20 |
| Bus tickets | 2 | 3.25 |
| Printing | 1 | 8.00 |
Type Amount in D1. Enter these formulas explicitly so the first model does not depend on learning a fill gesture:
| Cell | Formula | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| D2 | =B2*C2 |
13.50 |
| D3 | =B3*C3 |
6.00 |
| D4 | =B4*C4 |
6.50 |
| D5 | =B5*C5 |
8.00 |
The leading equals sign makes an entry a formula. If the literal characters =B2*C2 remain visible instead of a result, inspect the entry and cell format rather than typing the expected answer over it. F2 opens the documented editing mode; Esc cancels an unfinished edit.
Add a budget and independent controls
Enter Total in C7 and =SUM(D2:D5) in D7. Enter Budget in F1 and 40 in G1, then Remaining in F2 and =G1-D7 in G2. Expected total: 34. Expected remaining budget: 6.
For a separate check, enter =13.5+6+6.5+8 in G4. It must also return 34. In G5 enter =D7-G4; expect 0. This is a temporary benchmark, not a second production total: it deliberately contains the independently calculated line amounts and will not update when quantities change.
In G6 enter =COUNT(D2:D5); expect 4 numeric results. Inspect each D cell’s formula as well. Four numbers could be four typed constants, so count alone does not establish that the model calculates.
Select C2:D5 and D7, using separate selections if easier, and press Ctrl+1 to apply a two-decimal number display. Formatting may make 34 appear as 34.00; it does not create the arithmetic. Keep one currency throughout this synthetic exercise and state it in a nearby label, such as All amounts in EUR in F8.
Prove a changed input flows through
Change B2 from 3 to 4. D2 should become 18, D7 38.5, and G2 1.5. D3:D5 should remain 6, 6.5 and 8. G5 now becomes 4.5, because the fixed benchmark still describes the original purchase.
Restore B2 to 3. Expect D7 34, G2 6 and G5 0. If the total did not respond, inspect whether D2 and D7 still contain formulas and whether D7 covers rows 2–5. Do not “repair” a model by replacing its total with 34.
Save a native master and reopen it
Choose File → Save As. Use a new filename such as practice-expenses.gnumeric, select the native Gnumeric format and choose a folder you can find again. Confirm the filename and format rather than relying only on a typed extension. Keep this practice file separate from real records.
Close the saved workbook, then use File → Open to reopen that exact file. Check the four input rows, inspect D2 and D7 for their formulas, and repeat the B2 3 → 4 → 3 change. The expected sequence of totals is 34 → 38.5 → 34. Saving without reopening is not the same test.
Advanced case: record a refund explicitly
In a copy saved under a new name, add Returned pens, quantity -2 and unit cost 1.20 in A6:C6. Enter =B6*C6 in D6: expect -2.40. Extend D7 to =SUM(D2:D6); the total becomes 31.60 and remaining budget 8.40.
The original benchmark G4 describes the original four rows. Replace it with =13.5+6+6.5+8-2.4, an independently checked five-row benchmark of 31.60, so G5 returns to zero. Update G6 to =COUNT(D2:D6); expect 5. A negative quantity is this exercise’s refund convention, not an assertion about tax or accounting treatment.
For recovery, clear the new row’s contents and restore the original SUM and COUNT endpoints, and restore G4 to =13.5+6+6.5+8. Check 34, 6 and 4 again before returning to the master.
Common problems and evidence
Text prices, a missing equals sign and a total range that excludes a row are different faults. Check the actual entry, formula and range separately. A blank line is not automatically included in a fixed total when later filled.
Reviewed 2026-10-19 against Gnumeric manual 1.12: Data Entry, cell types and formulas and Saving Files. Expected amounts were independently calculated. No native application, save/reopen or screenshot was verified for this lesson; the reopen sequence is an acceptance test for the reader.
Related: SUM, COUNT and file-format compatibility.