OR - Accept any qualifying condition
Identify accounts needing priority follow-up when either contract value or an unresolved complaint is enough.
By the end, you can
- Combine alternatives with OR.
- Recognize inclusive OR when both tests pass.
- Choose OR or AND from the stated policy.
Before you start: Understand simple comparisons. IF provides text labels for Boolean results.
In this lesson
Either reason is sufficient
Customer success prioritises an account if its contract is worth at least ₹50,000 or it has an unresolved complaint. OR returns TRUE when at least one condition passes. Both passing is also TRUE: this is an inclusive OR, not an exactly-one rule. Use OR for alternative warning flags or any acceptable qualification.
Syntax and arguments
=OR(logical1, [logical2], ...)Supply the alternative tests. Excel supports up to 255 arguments, but keep the policy easy to read.
| Argument | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
logical1Required | The first qualifying condition. | B2>=50000 |
logical2, …Optional | Other conditions, any one of which is enough. | C2>0 |
Customer follow-up priority flags
TRUE| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Customer | Contract INR | Complaints | Any reason |
| 2 | Apex | ₹62,000 | 0 | TRUE |
| 3 | Bright | ₹24,000 | 2 | TRUE |
| 4 | Core | ₹18,000 | 0 | FALSE |
=OR(B2>=50000,C2>0)Apex has a high-value contract, so the result is TRUE despite zero complaints.
Alternative flags and labels
=OR(B4>=50000,C4>0)Core fails both comparisons.
=OR(C2>0,C3>0)Apex has none, but Bright has two; at least one account has a complaint.
=IF(OR(B3>=50000,C3>0),"Priority","Routine")Bright qualifies through complaints, so IF returns Priority.
Inclusive logic and usable inputs
- OR is FALSE only when every usable test is FALSE. If two tests pass, the result is still a single TRUE.
- Use explicit comparisons, rather than relying on numeric coercion: zero can behave as FALSE and nonzero as TRUE.
- Text and blanks in referenced ranges are ignored. A range without usable logical values can produce #VALUE!.
- A TRUE test is not a promise that other arguments' errors will be skipped. Do not use OR as an error-handling substitute for IFERROR.
Common mistakes and practical tips
Check your understanding
Choose an answer for instant feedback. You can try again; answers stay only on this page.