NOMINAL Function (OpenOffice Calc)

• Introduced: First release not established; documented by OpenOffice.org 3.3.
• Supported in: Apache OpenOffice 4.1.16; this is a verified release, not a final supported version.
• Scope: Desktop Calc, English function names and semicolon-separated formulas.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Eight ordinary reference formulas were recalculated from generated ODF in 4.1.16 on Linux x86-64, Build 9816. Source and independent arithmetic were checked.

NOMINAL returns the nominal annual rate that produces the supplied effective annual rate under an equal-period compounding convention. It calculates Periods*((1+EffectiveRate)^(1/Periods)−1) after flooring the period count. The result is an annual nominal rate, not the rate per compounding period. Release implementation.

NOMINAL(EffectiveRate;Periods)

• EffectiveRate: required positive effective annual rate as a decimal.
• Periods: required count at least 1; the interpreter floors it. Use a deliberate whole number.
• The periodic rate is the returned nominal rate divided by that count.

The native column contains saved 4.1.16 results; independent references use high-precision arithmetic and the stated source rules. Values are shown to twelve decimal places where needed.

For a 12% effective annual rate and monthly compounding, =NOMINAL(0.12;12) returns approximately 0.113865515215, or 11.3865515215% nominal annually. Dividing by 12 gives approximately 0.009488792935 per month. Twelve factors of 1 plus that monthly rate recover 1.12.

For a 10% effective annual rate compounded twice, the nominal annual result is 2*(SQRT(1.10)−1), approximately 0.097617696340. The half-year rate is half that value; do not use the entire annual nominal rate as each period’s rate.

With one period, NOMINAL returns the input effective rate. With positive rates and more periods, the nominal annual rate is lower than the effective annual rate because the periodic growth compounds. The difference is not a fee or loss; it is a difference in quotation convention.

Using the same whole count, EFFECTIVE(NOMINAL(e;m);m) recovers e within floating-point rounding. The native 12.9-period example matches 12 periods because the source floors the count. These are periodic compounding equations, not a model of irregular dated cash flows.

The release requires EffectiveRate>0 and Periods≥1. Zero, negative and other invalid inputs were not executed here; keep the documented source-domain restriction even though some mathematical limits exist. The approximate-floor helper’s near-integer behavior was not tested.

This guide concerns the core NOMINAL function. NOMINAL_ADD has a separate compatibility identity and should not be silently substituted just because the names resemble one another. Use percentage formatting for presentation, and enter 0.12 or 12% for a 12% rate rather than the number 12.

EFFECTIVE, power, RATE.

• Function-specific release implementation

The generated ODF produced the informational load warning “Not all attributes could be read.” The sheet was hard-recalculated and saved separately. All eight ordinary function identities, inputs and results were reconciled; a stale SUM cache changed from 999999 to 3 and an uncached SUM returned 7. This establishes the stated examples, not every workbook style or invalid input. Other explanatory identities are independent calculations. The authoring-tool XLSX was not executed in OpenOffice, and its preview values are not the native results reported here.