OR

Returns TRUE if any of the arguments are considered TRUE, and FALSE otherwise.

Syntax:

OR(argument1, argument2 ...argument30)

argument1 to argument30 are up to 30 arguments, each of which may be a logical result or value, or a reference to a cell or range.

OR tests every value (as an argument, or in a each referenced cell), and returns TRUE if any of them are TRUE. Any non-zero number is considered to be TRUE. Any text cells in ranges are ignored.

Example:

OR(TRUE, FALSE)

returns TRUE.

OR(0, 5)

returns TRUE, because 5 is considered TRUE.

If cells A5:B8 all contain FALSE, and cell C2 contains =TRUE():

OR(1>2, A5:B8, C2)

returns TRUE, because cell C2 is TRUE.

Application:

Sales Commission Eligibility

Let's say a company has a commission structure for its sales team. A salesperson earns a commission if either their "Units Sold" are greater than or equal to 100 OR their "Total Revenue" is greater than or equal to $50,000.

Table: Sales Performance Data

	Salesperson	Units Sold	Total Revenue	Commission Eligible?
	A	B	C	D
1	Alice	120	$45,000.00	TRUE
2	Bob	80	$60,000.00	TRUE
3	Charlie	95	$48,000.00	FALSE
4	David	110	$55,000.00	TRUE
5	Eve	70	$40,000.00	FALSE

Formula for "Commission Eligible?" Column:

To determine if a salesperson is eligible for a commission, you would enter the following formula in cell D1:

OR(B1>=100, C1>=50000)

Explanation of the Formula:

B1>=100: This checks if the "Units Sold" for Alice (in cell B1) are greater than or equal to 100.
C1>=50000: This checks if the "Total Revenue" for Alice (in cell C1) is greater than or equal to $50,000.
OR(...): The OR function takes these two logical tests as arguments. If either B1 is 100 or more, or C1 is $50,000 or more, the OR function will return TRUE. Otherwise, if both conditions are FALSE, it will return FALSE.

How the Results are Derived:

Alice: Units Sold (120) >= 100 is TRUE. Total Revenue ($45,000) >= $50,000 is FALSE. Since at least one condition is TRUE, OR returns TRUE.
Bob: Units Sold (80) >= 100 is FALSE. Total Revenue ($60,000) >= $50,000 is TRUE. Since at least one condition is TRUE, OR returns TRUE.
Charlie: Units Sold (95) >= 100 is FALSE. Total Revenue ($48,000) >= $50,000 is FALSE. Since both conditions are FALSE, OR returns FALSE.
David: Units Sold (110) >= 100 is TRUE. Total Revenue ($55,000) >= $50,000 is TRUE. Since at least one condition is TRUE, OR returns TRUE.
Eve: Units Sold (70) >= 100 is FALSE. Total Revenue ($40,000) >= $50,000 is FALSE. Since both conditions are FALSE, OR returns FALSE.