WRONG RESULTWrong result
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FINANCE & ACCOUNTING · GOOGLE SHEETS
Verified by JosephineReviewed July 25, 2026✓
NPV
calculate net present value for periodic cash flows.
Use NPV to value future cash flows today. This guide shows the exact structure, a working example and the mistakes most likely to break it.
Verified by JosephineReviewed July 25, 2026✓THE FORMULA
=NPV(discount, cashflow1, [cashflow2, …])A
discountdiscount rate per period
B
cashflowfuture cash flows
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Watch the answer update.
Edit any highlighted cell below. The example recalculates immediately.
| A · DATE / PERIOD | B · CASH FLOW | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 |
RESULT
$202.85Updates liveTry changing a value above. This example runs entirely in your browser.
IN PLAIN ENGLISHHow the formula
How the formula
thinks.
- 01
discountdiscount rate per period
- 02
cashflowfuture cash flows
COMMON FIXESWhen NPV
When NPV
doesn’t behave.
FORMULA PARSE ERRORFormula parse error
Check commas, quotation marks and closing parentheses. Your locale may use semicolons instead of commas.
UNEXPECTED BLANKSUnexpected blanks
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