go over the numbers

Meaning

This expression means to examine, review, or analyze financial data, budgets, sales figures, or statistics in detail. It is commonly used in business meetings, planning sessions, and performance reviews. The tone is professional yet collaborative, often used when a team wants to double-check their work or prepare a report.

Examples

• Before we submit the budget proposal, let's go over the numbers one more time.

  Before we submit the budget proposal, let's go over the numbers one more time.

• The marketing team needs to go over the numbers to see if the campaign was actually profitable.

  The marketing team needs to go over the numbers to see if the campaign was actually profitable.

• I'd like to go over the numbers with you during our one-on-one meeting tomorrow.

  I'd like to go over the numbers with you during our one-on-one meeting tomorrow.

• We spent the entire afternoon trying to go over the numbers, but we still couldn't find the error.

  We spent the entire afternoon trying to go over the numbers, but we still couldn't find the error.

• Can we go over the numbers from last quarter to understand why our sales dropped?

  Can we go over the numbers from last quarter to understand why our sales dropped?

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We need to look over to the numbers before the presentation.

  ✓ We need to go over the numbers before the presentation.

  Learners often confuse phrasal verbs, combining 'look over' and 'go over' into 'look over to' or adding unnecessary prepositions.

• ✗ Let's go over the digits to see our profit.

  ✓ Let's go over the numbers to see our profit.

  While 'digits' and 'numbers' can be synonyms in mathematics, in business English, 'the numbers' is a set idiom referring specifically to financial data. 'Digits' sounds unnatural here.

• ✗ The manager wants to go through the counts.

  ✓ The manager wants to go over the numbers.

  'Counts' refers to physical tallies of items. For financial reports, budgets, or statistics, native speakers always use 'the numbers'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• We can't sign the contract until our accountants ___.

  💡 Review the financial data.

  Show answer

  go over the numbers

• Let's meet tomorrow morning to ___ from the latest sales report.

  💡 Examine the statistics together.

  Show answer

  go over the numbers