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A Confusing question regarding Excel formulas

Jocelyn R Elliott 0 Reputation points
2026-05-13T01:25:17.2766667+00:00

I am working on a client database in Excel. I want to be able to take information from column A (Insurance Abreviation) and add it automatically to column C (Client ID) and make it so the numbers increase by one every row.

Example:

Column A = BH

Column C = 26001

Is there a formula that I can use as a novice that will automatically add the info in column A and add 1 to the number already in column C or should I do something else? I hope this makes sense. The information in Column A will be slightly different but a lot of repeats so I want to make sure and keep the numbering consistent no matter what the insurance abreviation is.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | Windows
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  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-05-13T01:25:29.6533333+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    Use a formula that combines the text from column A with a sequential number based on the row.

    Assume:

    • Column A has the insurance abbreviation (e.g., BH) starting in A2.
    • The first client ID should be BH26001 in row 2, BH26002 in row 3, etc.

    In C2 enter:

    =A2 & (26000 + ROW(A1))

    Explanation of this formula:

    • A2 is the insurance abbreviation.
    • ROW(A1) returns 1 in row 2, 2 in row 3, etc.
    • 26000 + ROW(A1) gives 26001 in row 2, 26002 in row 3, and so on.
    • & concatenates the abbreviation with the number.

    Then use the fill handle to copy the formula down column C so each row increases the number by 1 and keeps the abbreviation from that row.

    If only the numeric part is needed in column C (without the abbreviation), put the formula above in another column (for example D) and leave C as numeric.

    References:

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