VDB in Collabora Office: Calculate Depreciation Across Full or Partial Periods
Use Collabora VDB with explicit interval endpoints and switching choice, reproduce the ten-month charge, and distinguish an interval total from a single period.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Quick answer: =VDB(35000;7500;36;10;20;2) has documented result approximately 8603.80. It calculates depreciation over the interval from period position 10 to position 20 in a 36-month model.
Syntax and endpoint meaning
=VDB(Cost; Salvage; Life; Start; End [; Factor [; NoSwitch]])
Cost is initial value, Salvage is final value, and Life is the depreciation duration. Start and End delimit the requested interval and must use the same time units as Life. The function supports a specified or partial period.
Factor is optional; the section explicitly identifies 2 as double-rate depreciation but does not clearly state an omitted-factor default, so these examples supply 2. NoSwitch defaults to 0, allowing a switch to linear depreciation; 1 prevents that switch.
The page’s optional-argument guidance says optional positions should not be skipped while later arguments are supplied. To request NoSwitch 1, supply Factor explicitly as well.
Example: reproduce the vendor interval
Enter 35000,7500,36,10,20,2 into B2:B7 and use =VDB(B2;B3;B4;B5;B6;B7) in B9. The documented rounded result is 8603.80.
For this interval, an independent declining-balance calculation with per-month rate 2/36 is:
=35000*(1-2/36)^10*(1-(1-2/36)^10)
It gives approximately 8603.802453724, matching the source’s rounding. The interval spans ten periods, from position 10 to position 20; it is not the charge for period 20 alone.
The source’s wording mentions a three-year life, while the formula uses 36 and monthly positions. Keep that conversion explicit in your worksheet rather than mixing years and months.
Example: compare adjacent whole-period intervals
Use Cost 1000, Salvage 0, Life 5, Factor 2, and NoSwitch 1. In the independent declining model:
| Start | End | Independent charge |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 400 |
| 1 | 2 | 240 |
| 0 | 2 | 640 |
The corresponding calls are =VDB(1000;0;5;0;1;2;1), =VDB(1000;0;5;1;2;2;1), and =VDB(1000;0;5;0;2;2;1).
The adjacent interval totals reconcile: 400+240=640. Start zero means the beginning of the depreciation model, unlike the first-period index one used by some period-charge functions.
Advanced example: inspect a partial interval
For the same no-switch model, consider Start 0.5 and End 1.5. A transparent independent proportional-period model includes half of the first charge and half of the second: 0.5×400+0.5×240=320.
The value 320 belongs only to that illustrative proportional-overlap model. The native result of =VDB(1000;0;5;0.5;1.5;2;1) remains unverified: the reviewed Collabora section confirms partial-period support but does not establish this overlap algorithm. Do not treat 320 as a verified function-output expectation.
Store Start and End separately and show their difference. A partial interval is not the same as rounding its endpoints to whole periods.
Understand the switching choice without overclaiming
NoSwitch 0 permits the documented transition to linear depreciation; NoSwitch 1 prevents it. The dedicated section does not fully spell out the switching threshold or every salvage/fractional-period interaction, so this guide does not import a complete algorithm from another product.
For an independent no-switch illustration with cost 1000, salvage zero, life five, and factor two, five declining charges are 400,240,144,86.4,51.84, totaling 922.24 and leaving 77.76. A declining sequence alone need not exhaust the asset value by the stated life.
That illustration explains why a switching option matters; it is not a promise of the exact native switch period for every input.
Errors and troubleshooting
Check consistent time units, meaningful Start/End order, an interval within the intended model, and explicit Factor/NoSwitch choices. SUM can reconcile disjoint interval totals; overlapping intervals double-count depreciation.
The dedicated section does not enumerate every invalid-input native error or final-value boundary. ROUND should be a reporting choice after the unrounded schedule is understood. The function does not decide accounting policy or tax eligibility, and the independent examples do not certify a complete native depreciation engine.
Availability and verification
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.
References
- Collabora Office 26.04: VDB (checked October 17, 2026).
- Editorial testing standards.