Spreadsheet Practice

How to round up to a multiple in Excel (CEILING)

Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)

=CEILING(B2,C2)

Use CEILING with the step: =CEILING(B2,C2) rounds 130 up to 144 when units come in cases of 24.

Result on the example
one result per row in D2, filled down to D6
Works in
Every current version
Google Sheets
Same formula

See it work

The formula is already in D2, filled down to D6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

CEILING rounds up to the next multiple of its second argument. 130 isn't a multiple of 24, so it goes up to 144 (6 cases). 48 is already a multiple of 12 and stays as it is. Any shortfall, however small, adds a whole case.

=CEILING(B2,C2)

Result144

  1. B2130

    The value in B2.

  2. C224

    The value in C2.

  3. CEILING(B2,C2)144

    CEILING: Rounds up to a multiple.

    • numberB2130
    • significanceC224

In Google Sheets

The same formula works in Google Sheets: =CEILING(B2,C2). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

FormulaResultWhen to use it
=CEILING.MATH(B2,C2)144, 48, 90…The newer function; it also takes a mode argument that controls how negative numbers round.
=ROUNDUP(B2/C2,0)*C2144, 48, 90…Count whole cases with ROUNDUP, then multiply back. Handy when you need the number of cases too.

Common mistakes

  • MROUND rounds to the nearest multiple, so 130 would become 120 and leave you short. Use CEILING when you can't go under.
  • For negative numbers, CEILING rounds toward zero (-7 to the nearest 5 becomes -5). Use CEILING.MATH(-7,5,1) to round away from zero.

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Round up to a multiple in Excel (CEILING)

In D2, round the units needed up to a whole number of cases (a multiple of C2), then fill down to D6.

Questions

How do I round up to the nearest 10 or 100?

Use =CEILING(B2,10) or =ROUNDUP(B2,-1); -2 rounds up to hundreds.

How many cases is that?

Divide by the case size: =CEILING(B2,C2)/C2, or =ROUNDUP(B2/C2,0).

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.