Google Sheets™ total not updating? A number was typed over the formula

By Paul Kemp · Published 24 September 2026 · Updated 2 October 2026

You change a figure, and the total underneath stays exactly where it was. Before you look at settings, look at the total itself: the most common cause is that it is no longer a formula.

Confirm it in ten seconds

Click the total that is not moving.
Look at the formula bar. If it shows =SUM(D2:D11), the formula is there and the cause is elsewhere (see below). If it shows a bare number such as 18450, someone typed or pasted a value over the formula, and it will never update again.

This happens far more than it should. A copy and Paste values only that reached one row too far. A quick "just put the right number in for now" before a meeting. A colleague who overtyped a total that looked wrong. The cell keeps its formatting, so it looks like every other total.

Fix it

Copy the formula from a neighbouring total that still works (the cell to its left or right, if the totals run across a row), and paste it into the broken cell. Sheets adjusts the references for you.
Or type it again: =SUM(, select the range above, ), Enter.
Change an input and check the total now moves.

If the pasted number was what the total should have been, compare it with the restored formula's result before moving on: a difference means something above it is wrong too.

If the formula is still there

The range stops short. =SUM(D2:D10) does not see a row added at 11. Use an open range, =SUM(D2:D), or insert rows inside the range.
The figures are text. A number imported as text (left-aligned, often with a leading apostrophe) is skipped by SUM. Format › Number will not convert it; retype it or use =VALUE().
Recalculation. File › Settings › Calculation governs volatile functions such as NOW() and iterative calculation. An ordinary SUM always updates when its inputs do.

Are there others?

If one total was overtyped, it is worth asking where else it happened. Google Sheets™ has no inconsistent-formula warning, so nothing will flag the rest. Hardcoded Value Detector checks the whole active sheet for free: it reports every cell where a typed number breaks a run of matching formulas — the bottom total and the first month included — shows the formula it should have, and puts it back with one click (with Undo, always free).

Also worth reading: How to find hardcoded values in Google Sheets™.

Check your own sheet for free. Hardcoded Value Detector is free in the Google Workspace™ Marketplace. Find out how to install it, or read the step-by-step guide.