How to Convert Units with CONVERT in Excel

Convert a parcel’s pounds and inches to kilograms and centimetres, then find the weight an international courier will charge.

You will learn to

• Convert weight from pounds to kilograms
• Convert the longest side to centimetres
• Calculate a courier’s chargeable weight

How it works

CONVERT(number, from_unit, to_unit) converts a measurement using unit codes in quotes. =CONVERT(18,"lbm","kg") turns 18 pounds into 8.16 kilograms, and =CONVERT(24,"in","cm") gives 60.96 centimetres. Unit codes are case-sensitive: pounds of mass are "lbm", not "lb".

Both units must measure the same thing — converting kilograms to metres returns #N/A. Combine CONVERT with other functions, for example MAX to pick the larger of an actual and a volumetric weight.

=CONVERT(B2,"lbm","kg")