DB in Collabora Office: Inspect Fixed-Declining Depreciation by Period

=DB(Cost; Salvage; Life; Period [; Month])

Cost is initial asset cost. Salvage is the value remaining at the end of depreciation. Life is the depreciation duration. Period selects the period being calculated; the source example explicitly uses Period 2 for the second period, even though its argument prose is less precise about that index.

Month is optional and specifies the number of months in the first depreciation year. It defaults to 12. Month 6 means a six-month first year, not the calendar month June and not a six-month duration for every later period.

Keep period units consistent with the asset’s life. The examples use years with a partial first year and full subsequent years. The function returns depreciation for the selected period, not cumulative depreciation or the remaining book value.

Put 25000,1000,3,2,6 in B2:B6 and enter =DB(B2;B3;B4;B5;B6) in B8. The documented result is 11037.95 currency units.

An independent fixed-declining model reproduces that result using a rate 0.658. With a half-year first period, first depreciation is 25000×0.658×6/12=8225. The next opening book value is 16775, so second depreciation is 16775×0.658=11037.95.

The model’s unrounded rate expression is 1−(1000/25000)^(1/3); rounding that rate to three decimals gives 0.658. The dedicated Collabora section does not explicitly specify a universal rate-rounding algorithm. This is a transparent reconstruction of its particular control, not a claim that every hidden implementation detail has been verified.

After the first two independently modeled charges, total depreciation is 8225+11037.95=19262.95. Remaining book value is 25000−19262.95=5737.05.

The DB result for Period 2 is 11037.95, not 5737.05. A table should label “opening book value,” “period depreciation,” “cumulative depreciation,” and “closing book value” separately to avoid this common confusion.

Using the same illustrative 0.658 rate, a full first year would give an independent first charge of 16450, while six months gives 8225. The short first period changes later opening balances, so it is not enough to divide every year’s result by two.

For an audit, include the Month input as a visible assumption alongside Life. A reader should not have to inspect a formula to discover that the first reporting period was shortened.

A simple three-year straight-line model for cost 25000 and salvage 1000 has annual depreciation (25000−1000)/3=8000, before any partial-year convention. That is a different allocation method from the source’s fixed-declining example.

SLN is a related straight-line guide. Choosing a method requires the relevant accounting policy; the function name does not decide that policy or establish tax treatment.

SUM can total a verified period schedule, and ROUND can control the final display. Do not round every intermediate balance merely to force a schedule to match an assumed final value.

Check meaningful nonnegative cost/salvage inputs, a positive life, and a valid period/month selection. The dedicated source does not enumerate a full native error table, partial-final-year algorithm, or every salvage and rounding boundary.

The worked guide establishes the exact vendor control and its independent arithmetic, not a complete certified depreciation engine. If you need a full schedule or statutory result, validate all periods in the actual target version and the applicable policy rather than extrapolating one example indefinitely.

The exact function is documented in Collabora Office 26.04 desktop help, retrieved and reviewed on October 17, 2026. This establishes a documentation scope, not the first release that introduced the function or the last version in which it works; those versions and any retirement date remain unestablished. Collabora Online and mobile support are not inferred from desktop help, nor is behavior in another spreadsheet product.

The examples are documentation-based expectations with independent calculations. They have not been executed in Collabora Office. No application screenshot or native error/coercion certification is implied. Formulas use English function names and semicolon argument separators.

• Collabora Office 26.04: DB (checked October 17, 2026).
• Editorial testing standards.