This formula will work to keep blank cells from returning “0” to another cell.
=IF( AND( ISBLANK(A1)=true , isblank(B1)=true ) , "dontsayzero")
Then, you can just remove the dontsayzero after you’ve tested it, but LEAVE THE QUOTES! Also, you can make things more sophisticated adding more “IF” and “OR” statements. Check this one out (remove carriage returns but not commas)
=
IF( AND(ISBLANK(A1)=true,ISBLANK(B1)=true) , "bothblank",
IF( OR(ISBLANK(A1)=true,ISBLANK(B1)=true) , "atleastoneblank" ,
IF( AND(ISBLANK(A1)=false,ISBLANK(B1)=false) , "neitherblank")))
This formula looks at the two cells and tells you their status. Should be pretty straightforward. This could be used if you had some data, but not enough to make the final calculation and didn’t want the zeroes or errors to mess with your further analysis. Just remove the stuff inside, leave the quote signs, and you’ve got a blank cell for any of the three situations. Moving further, if you want a different operation done in those three situations, remove the quote signs and insert your operation after the comma. There’s probably something more sophisticated out there as well. Good luck!