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This error indicates that a formula or function contains invalid numeric values.

Symptom

Excel displays #NUM! in one or more cells on a worksheet.

Causes

• You may have used an unacceptable argument in a function that requires a numeric argument.
• You may have used a worksheet function that iterates (iteration: Repeated calculation of a worksheet until a specific numeric condition is met.), such as IRR or RATE, and the function cannot find a result.
• You may have entered a formula that produces a number that is too large or too small to be represented in Excel.

Resolution

• Optionally, if error checking is turned on in Excel, click the button that appears next to the cell that displays the error , click Show Calculation Steps if it appears, and then click the resolution that is appropriate for your data.

   Tip   Review the following resolutions to help determine which option to click.

• Make sure that the arguments (argument: The values that a function uses to perform operations or calculations. The type of argument a function uses is specific to the function. Common arguments that are used within functions include numbers, text, cell references, and names.) that are used in the function are numbers. For example, even if the value that you want to enter is $1,000, enter 1000 in the formula.
• Use a different starting value for the worksheet function.
• Change the number of times that Excel iterates formulas by doing the following:
  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , click Excel Options, and then click the Formulas category.
  2. Under Calculation options, select the Enable iterative calculation check box.
  3. To set the maximum number of times that Excel will recalculate, type the number of iterations in the Maximum Iterations box. The higher the number of iterations, the more time that Excel needs to calculate a worksheet.
  4. To set the maximum amount of change that you will accept between calculation results, type the amount in the Maximum Change box. The smaller the number, the more accurate the result and the more time that Excel needs to calculate a worksheet.
• Change the formula so that its result is between -1*10³⁰⁷ and 1*10³⁰⁷.