FORMULA & SQL / TOTALS
Percent change from the previous row.
Tested, not guessed.
The Excel and Google Sheets formula and the SQL query, each run on the rows below. Open this with your own data ↗
The example rows
| Row | A: Region | B: Rep | C: Amount | D: Order Date | E: Status | F: Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | North | Ana | 1,200 | 2026-03-01 | Paid | Jo Smith |
| 3 | South | Ben | 450 | 2026-03-15 | Open | Raj Patel |
| 4 | North | Cy | 300 | 2026-04-02 | Paid | Lee Wong |
| 5 | East | Ana | 980.50 | 2026-04-20 | Paid | Mia Ross |
| 6 | North | Ben | 75 | 2026-05-05 | Open | Jo Smith |
| 7 | West | Dee | 1,640 | 2026-05-18 | Paid | Sam Okoro |
The formula
Excel
=(C3-C2)/C2
Amount (C3) minus Amount (C2) divided by Amount (C2).
Put this in row 3 and fill down; format as a percentage.
Run on the example rows:
| Row | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | -0.625 |
| 3 | -0.3333 |
| 4 | 2.2683 |
| 5 | -0.9235 |
| 6 | 20.8667 |
| 7 | -1 |
The SQL
PostgreSQL
SELECT *, ROUND(100.0 * (amount - LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date)) / NULLIF(LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date), 0), 2) AS percent_change FROM sales
Run on the example rows:
| region | rep | amount | order_date | status | customer | percent_change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | Ana | 1200 | 2026-03-01 | Paid | Jo Smith | |
| South | Ben | 450 | 2026-03-15 | Open | Raj Patel | -62.5 |
| North | Cy | 300 | 2026-04-02 | Paid | Lee Wong | -33.33 |
| East | Ana | 980.5 | 2026-04-20 | Paid | Mia Ross | 226.83 |
| North | Ben | 75 | 2026-05-05 | Open | Jo Smith | -92.35 |
| West | Dee | 1640 | 2026-05-18 | Paid | Sam Okoro | 2086.67 |
Other databases
MySQL
SELECT *, ROUND(100.0 * (amount - LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date)) / NULLIF(LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date), 0), 2) AS percent_change FROM sales
SQL Server
SELECT *, ROUND(100.0 * (amount - LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date)) / NULLIF(LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date), 0), 2) AS percent_change FROM sales
SQLite
SELECT *, ROUND(100.0 * (amount - LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date)) / NULLIF(LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date), 0), 2) AS percent_change FROM sales
BigQuery
SELECT *, ROUND(100.0 * (amount - LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date)) / NULLIF(LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date), 0), 2) AS percent_change FROM sales
Snowflake
SELECT *, ROUND(100.0 * (amount - LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date)) / NULLIF(LAG(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date), 0), 2) AS percent_change FROM sales
Your own data
Paste your rows into the free tool and it writes this for your columns, then runs it on your data before you copy it. Open the tool ↗