What this category helps you do
Financial formulas turn business and investment assumptions into numbers you can compare. They are useful for loans, budgets, pricing, margin analysis, investment decisions, and business cases.
- Calculate monthly loan payments
- Estimate return on investment
- Calculate gross margin and markup
- Evaluate investment cash flows
Financial formula examples
Choose a formula below. Each page explains the formula in plain English and gives examples one at a time so long formulas are easier to read and copy.
Break-Even
calculates the number of units needed to cover fixed and variable costs.
Open examples →FormulaCAGR
calculates the compound annual growth rate between a beginning and ending value.
Open examples →FormulaFV
calculates the future value of an investment or loan.
Open examples →FormulaGross Margin
calculates the percentage of revenue left after cost of goods sold.
Open examples →FormulaIPMT
calculates the interest portion of a payment for a specific period.
Open examples →FormulaIRR
returns the internal rate of return for a series of periodic cash flows.
Open examples →FormulaMarkup
calculates how much the selling price exceeds cost as a percentage of cost.
Open examples →FormulaNPER
calculates the number of periods for an investment or loan.
Open examples →FormulaNPV
calculates the present value of future cash flows discounted at a selected rate.
Open examples →FormulaPMT
calculates the payment for a loan based on rate, number of periods, and present value.
Open examples →FormulaPPMT
calculates the principal portion of a payment for a specific period.
Open examples →FormulaPV
calculates the present value of future cash flows or loan payments.
Open examples →FormulaRATE
calculates the interest rate per period.
Open examples →FormulaROI
calculates return on investment as gain divided by cost.
Open examples →FormulaXIRR
returns internal rate of return for cash flows on irregular dates.
Open examples →FormulaXNPV
calculates net present value for cash flows on irregular dates.
Open examples →Best formulas to start with
How to learn this category
- Open one formula page and test the first beginner example.
- Change one cell reference at a time so you understand what each part controls.
- Check the common mistakes section before copying the formula down.
- Move to related formulas when you need a cleaner or more advanced version.