Calculated totals = total confusion?

[Stephen Chakwin]

At least on my part...

Here's what happened to me.

I did an outline with columns.  The layout was that the heads and subheads
were items in a commercial dispute, and the columns were of the amount as to
each item that my side: disputed (one column); believed was owed to it by
the other side (next column); and believed was owed to the other side (third
column).

I formatted the columns into numbers, then into currency, but couldn't get
the columns to give me calculated totals for the entire column.  The on-line
help wasn't and I'm lost.

Aside from having done the whole thing in a spreadsheet to start with, is
there something I should have done differently or have I just asked of OO
what it cannot give me?

TIA,

Stephen