NOMINAL Function (Gnumeric)

This page concerns Gnumeric (GNOME’s spreadsheet application), not the identically named feature in another spreadsheet. The official Gnumeric Finance reference documents the signature and behaviour, and the public function catalogue lists the function’s implementation as Complete with Basic upstream testing (both checked 2026-10-13). The Gnumeric 1.12.62 release announcement confirms the target release exists, but this manuscript does not establish that every supported operating-system package ships identical binaries or that our examples ran in that version. Consult your distribution’s Gnumeric package and function list. These are finance functions, not optional add-ins asserted to be available on every platform.

Formula syntax below uses the English function name, decimal point and comma-separated arguments shown by the English Gnumeric reference. Some installations use a localized decimal separator and/or argument delimiter; check the on-screen Function Selector and adapt syntax rather than pasting commas blindly. Put percentage values in cells as numbers formatted as percentages (for example, 6% = 0.06); do not type the number 6 when you mean six percent.

NOMINAL answers: what nominal annual rate, compounded a given number of times per year, produces a known effective annual rate? It reverses the compounding relationship used by Gnumeric’s EFFECT. A 6.1363550625% effective annual rate is consistent with a 6% annual nominal rate, compounded four times a year. The official Gnumeric manual specifies NOMINAL(rate,nper) and defines rate as the effective annual rate. Gnumeric Finance manual, NOMINAL, checked 2026-10-13.

The function does not infer a rate from individual deposits or a loan’s payment schedule. In particular, it is not a substitute for RATE or IRR when you have actual cash flows rather than a known effective rate.

=NOMINAL(rate,nper)

From the documented Gnumeric EFFECT identity, algebra gives nper*((1+rate)^(1/nper)-1) for the nominal annual rate. This is an independent mathematical rearrangement, not a claim that Gnumeric’s implementation uses exactly this source-code expression. Official manual — EFFECT and NOMINAL.

Set B4–B7 to percentage format, and widen columns so the result is not visually rounded to only 6.0%. The expected values were checked by independent computation, not in a Gnumeric GUI session.

Keep effective annual rate in B2. Type 1, 4, 12 in D2:D4, and put =NOMINAL($B$2,D2) in E2, filling downward. For the fixed effective rate 6.1363550625%:

For precise values, use the worksheet formula instead of the rounded prose number. Changing nper while holding the effective rate constant changes the equivalent nominal quote; it does not change the underlying annual yield by itself.

If one institution quotes 6% nominal compounded quarterly and another quotes a 6.1363550625% effective annual rate, independent formulas =EFFECT(6%,4) and =NOMINAL(6.1363550625%,4) show the offers have equal compounding-only annual yield. They may still differ on fees, day-count convention, minimum balance, payment timing, insured status, deposit access and tax implications. Record the source of each displayed rate in an adjacent cell rather than comparing unlabeled percentages.

If an effective rate is calculated from actual dates or irregular cash flows, do not assume a constant periodic nominal quote is sufficient; NOMINAL is purely a compounding conversion.

• Using the wrong direction: =NOMINAL(6%,4) asks for a nominal quote yielding an effective 6%, not the yield of a 6% nominal rate. Use EFFECT(6%,4) for the latter.

• Supplying 6 instead of 6%: raw 6 represents 600%; input 0.06 or 6%.

• Rounding discrepancies: keep B2’s unrounded effective rate where possible; showing only two percentage decimals before conversion may alter the reconstructed nominal rate.

• Confusing compounding with payment frequency: the count is times interest compounds per year, not number of deposits if those schedules differ.

Source-verified input bounds (1.12.62): The implementation floors numeric nper to an integer and returns a NUM-kind error when that count is below 1 or when rate is zero or negative. These are source branches, not observed error displays. Use positive rates and positive whole compounding counts; arbitrary text coercion remains untested.

• EFFECT — nominal to effective yearly rate
• RATE — solve a periodic cash-flow rate
• FV — projected future value
• PV — discounted present value

Official sources were checked on 2026-10-13:

1. Gnumeric manual — Finance function reference: exact Gnumeric signature, argument names, purpose and documented defaults; relevant function heading NOMINAL. This is documentation evidence, not an execution trace.
2. Gnumeric official function catalogue: lists nominal as Complete / Basic; catalogue classification is not a guarantee that this manuscript’s test values passed a native session.
3. GNOME Gnumeric 1.12.62 release announcement: version context. The web reference is updated separately from specific installed builds, and the reviewed implementation is scoped to the checksum-verified official 1.12.62 source archive. No native application execution was performed.

Validation scope: Official documentation and checksum-verified Gnumeric 1.12.62 source were reviewed; example arithmetic was independently recalculated. Native Gnumeric execution, screenshots, locale/platform regression tests and workbook round-trips were not performed.