title: Excel 2016 - How do I determine which column I should use to help me predict actual numbers?
body: <p>I have 3 columns that guess what a number should be, and then the actual column of what the numbers are.  I need to determine mathematically overall a few things.  (Each column is a prediction and there are 3 sources.)</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>Which column was the closest to the actual column.      </p></li>
  <li><p>Which column was the closest to the actual column, but was larger than the actual column.  (Supervisor would rather guess high than low.)</p></li>
  <li><p>Which column should I use in assisting me predict the actual numbers for next year.</p></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>I'm not sure if I should use only Conditional Formatting, or have columns with the percentages of over / under.  What do you recommend and how would you do this? </p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/uU0Ij.png" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/uU0Ij.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
  
  <p>Thank you!</p>