Tailoring: Ticket Total With A Shop Minimum

Excel Formulas › Tailoring & Alterations

All versions

A single button re-sew is two minutes of work but a whole trip to the shop for the customer. Sum the line items, then wrap the total in a minimum so no ticket ever drops below what it costs you to open the door.

Quick formula: Sum the alteration items, floored at your shop minimum:

=MAX(SUM(B2:D2),E2)

A hem, taper, and buttons at $18 + $22 + $6 is $46, well over a $25 minimum — so the ticket is $46. A lone $15 hem gets lifted to the $25 floor.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

MAX SUM

The example

Three tickets, each with up to three alteration charges and the shop minimum.

	A	B	C	D	E	F
1	Ticket	Item 1	Item 2	Item 3	Min	Charge
2	Suit	18	22	6	25	46
3	Dress	15	0	0	25	25
4	Coat	30	20	12	25	62

The formula

SUM adds the work; MAX makes sure it never falls below the floor:

=MAX(SUM(B2:D2),E2) // add the items, then lift to the minimum if needed

How it works

Two functions doing one job:

SUM(B2:D2) adds the alteration charges on the ticket.
MAX(...,E2) compares that sum to the shop minimum and keeps whichever is larger.
When the work totals more than the minimum, the minimum is ignored — MAX just returns the sum.
When it totals less, the minimum wins, so a two-minute fix still pays for the counter time.

Change the minimum in one column and every under-minimum ticket re-floors instantly.

Try it: interactive demo

Interactive

Enter up to three alteration charges and your shop minimum.

Item 1 ($)

Item 2 ($)

Item 3 ($)

Shop minimum ($)

Variations

Rush surcharge

Add a flat rush fee on top of the floored total.

=MAX(SUM(B2:D2),E2)+10

Per-garment minimum

Multiply the minimum by the number of garments on the ticket.

=MAX(SUM(B2:D2),E2*F2)

Pitfalls & errors

Do not add the minimum to the sum — that double-charges every normal ticket. MAX chooses one or the other; it never stacks them.

Keep the minimum in its own cell, not typed into the formula. When you raise it, every ticket updates without editing a single formula.

Practice workbook

📊

Download the free Tailoring: Ticket Total With A Shop Minimum practice workbook

Edit the yellow item and minimum cells; the ticket total recalculates.

Frequently asked questions

Why not just tell customers the minimum up front?

You should — but the formula is what enforces it at the register. It lets you quote real line-item prices while guaranteeing the ticket never settles below the floor, even on a single small fix.

What if a ticket has more than three items?

Widen the SUM range to cover every item column, for example SUM(B2:F2). The MAX and the minimum cell stay exactly the same.

Stop fighting formulas. Learn them in a day.

This recipe is one of hundreds of real-world formulas we teach. Our Excel Formulas & Functions class covers lookups, logic, text, and dynamic arrays hands-on — live in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, Denver, or online.

See the Formulas & Functions Class

Function references: MAX SUM