What DOLLAR does
DOLLAR formats a number as currency text and rounds it to the number of decimal places you specify. It is helpful when you need a currency-looking text string inside a larger text workflow.
Practical examples
Format a value as currency text
=DOLLAR(A2)
If you omit the second argument, Excel formats the result with two decimal places.
Round to a custom number of decimals
=DOLLAR(A2,0)
Use this when you want a currency-style text result without decimal places.
Common mistakes and notes
DOLLAR returns text
Microsoft specifically notes that DOLLAR returns text, not a numeric amount. That can cause problems if you later try to sum or average the result.
Currency symbols depend on local settings
The output format uses your local language settings, so separators and currency symbols can differ between systems.