SYD Function in ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor: Syntax, Worked Examples and Limitations

• Introduced: The original introduction version and date are not established by the official sources checked.
• Availability: Documented in the current ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor help; no final working-version endpoint is established.
• Scope: Docs and Desktop Editors release separately. This unversioned help does not establish availability in every older build, mobile client or deployment.
• Checked: October 14, 2026, against the official function reference. Documentation check; not a new native test.

For an 8,000 asset with 1,000 salvage and five-year life, the depreciable base is 7,000 and the sum of digits is 15. The first year’s numerator is five, so 7,000×5/15=2,333.333333…; year two uses four; the final year uses one. The five unrounded modeled expenses sum to 7,000. The output is an annual expense, not the book value or the amount of salvage.

The number displayed by the function is a depreciation amount for the selected period. Keep underlying calculation precision separate from cell display formatting. Financial assumptions, tax treatment and accounting policies must be reviewed independently of whether a formula parses correctly.

=SYD(cost, salvage, life, per)

Documented input rule: All four arguments are required; no optional arguments or defaults appear in the official syntax. The short ONLYOFFICE page does not specify detailed native errors for out-of-range life or period. The formula must begin with =. In the English ONLYOFFICE documentation, the parameters are shown separated by commas. Formula names or argument separators may be localized: these English examples are not a verified list of every locale’s equivalents.

The independent arithmetic model for an integer useful life n and period p is SYD_p = (cost − salvage) × (n − p + 1) / (n(n+1)/2). The denominator is the fixed sum of all life digits, 1+2+...+n. This formula is a mathematical derivation of the named method, while the vendor’s short function page confirms the category, purpose, syntax and argument meanings. It does not specify every native input-coercion case or error message.

In the worked tables, decimals are displayed to six places to keep comparisons meaningful. Real-world currency normally prints two decimals, but do not round intermediate values merely because the final report is formatted as currency. If the editor and these independent expectations differ, isolate the input scenario, reproduce it in your installed edition and do not claim that another spreadsheet’s behaviour proves an ONLYOFFICE rule.

1. Open an empty sheet in ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor (web Docs or Desktop Editors, depending on your installation). Use the English formula display for the instructions below.
2. Enter every specified value into its exact cell. A semicolon-separated sequence in the setup table means one number per successive row in the named vertical range, not a semicolon-delimited string inside a single cell.
3. Enter the cost, salvage, life and period inputs as numbers. Keep cost and salvage in the same monetary unit.
4. Copy the first formula below into M2. Enter the remaining eleven formulas in M3:M13 without changing the original input cells. The output column is separate from all sample inputs.
5. Press Enter. Compare the depreciation amount in number or currency format, showing extra decimal places when checking the calculation.
6. If the first example differs, stop and investigate its input values before copying additional examples into a production model. Keep your original data sheet and a test copy separate.

The third column is not a screenshot, live application test, or vendor-provided expected result. It is mathematical benchmark data for reproducing and independently reviewing the formula. Six-decimal half-up rounding below is display rounding only.

Independently audit the first calculation

For an 8,000 asset with 1,000 salvage and five-year life, the depreciable base is 7,000 and the sum of digits is 15. The first year’s numerator is five, so 7,000×5/15=2,333.333333…; year two uses four; the final year uses one. The five unrounded modeled expenses sum to 7,000. The output is an annual expense, not the book value or the amount of salvage.

Reconcile the accelerated expenses to salvage

In H2:H6 enter =SYD(B2,B3,B4,1) through =SYD(B2,B3,B4,5). In H7 enter =SUM(H2:H6); H8 =B2-H7. Independently, H7 should equal 7,000 and H8 should equal 1,000. If currency cells display two decimals, summing separately rounded display numbers can differ by a cent. Keep underlying numeric precision for reconciliation.

Understand the weight pattern

The weights across five years are 5/15, 4/15, 3/15, 2/15, and 1/15. That makes year one five times the year-five expense for the same depreciable base. With a four-year asset the weights are 4/10 through 1/10, so the percentages change even if cost and salvage are scaled proportionately. This is a declining allocation, but not a geometric declining-balance percentage.

Compare alternative useful lives fairly

For one asset, change life only after documenting the revised useful-life assumption. A shorter life both increases the first year’s weight and reduces the number of charges. Do not compare two first-year charges without also showing total depreciable base, expected salvage and years. The main example (five years), C (four years), and D (three years) deliberately make that distinction visible.

Compare with SLN and DDB

SLN divides the depreciable amount evenly over years. DDB uses a factor with a declining book value; DB uses a fixed-declining-balance method with an optional first-year month. SYD instead divides by a sum-of-integers denominator and has no optional factor in its official syntax.

Practical use in an asset register

Maintain one row per asset for acquisition cost, residual value and useful life, and one row per period for the calculated depreciation. Keep the dates of acquisition and disposal separate from the per integer. SYD itself does not provide a date, tax category or regulatory approval; use the published schedule as a calculation aid, then apply relevant accounting policy separately.

Error handling: The vendor reference does not enumerate all invalid-input outcomes. Mathematical constraints are not measured application error messages.

The examples use English function names, decimal points and comma argument separators, matching the function-entry guide. Adapt notation to the installed formula-language and region settings. When moving a workbook between products, recalculate the small sample in the destination version before trusting the full model. Display precision is separate from the stored value; retain unrounded intermediate values when reconciling totals.

• ONLYOFFICE SYD function reference: purpose, syntax and argument meanings.
• Spreadsheet Editor formula entry: function catalog and English entry syntax.
• Docs release history and Desktop Editors release history: separate product timelines.

• ROUND: choose displayed calculation precision
• IF: validate a worksheet condition