MROUND in SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026: Round to a Multiple

Many operational values must use a fixed increment: a warehouse picks multiples of four, scheduling uses five-minute blocks, and a quote may use a 0.05 increment. Ordinary ROUND(23,0) leaves 23 unchanged; MROUND(23,5) returns 25 because 25 is closer than 20. This is an arithmetic planning example, not a rule for cash, tax, payroll, or regulatory rounding.

For a positive number and base, the distance to the adjacent multiples determines the answer. For 22 with a step of 5, the neighbouring multiples are 20 and 25, and 20 wins. For 23, 25 wins. For 22.5, the distances tie; the official instruction explicitly assigns the higher multiple, 25. PlanMaker 2026 example cases.

Do not substitute CEILING (always away from zero under its own signed-input rule) or FLOOR (toward zero under its own rule). The three functions solve distinct problems. CEILING documentation · FLOOR documentation.

=MROUND(Number, Base)

The English manual has two required arguments and prints a comma between them. Do not confuse Base with the number of decimal places used by ROUND. An example using direct numbers is =MROUND(1234.5678,0.01), with documented result 1234.57. Official 2026 signature and examples.

Locale caution: The manual’s English comma and decimal point are examples of English notation, not proof that every regional PlanMaker installation accepts those punctuation marks or uses the English function name. Consult Formula → Function in your own installation before adapting syntax. The official formula-entry instructions require the leading = when entering a formula into a cell.

Make a new sheet called MROUND examples. Put Case, Number, Base, MROUND formula, Expected, Check into cells A1:F1. Enter the B and C numeric values below in rows 2–13. Type =MROUND(B2,C2) in D2 and fill it down through D13. Enter the listed expected numeric values in E2:E13. Column A holds the scenario labels.

In F2, enter =ABS(D2-E2)<0.000000001 and fill down to F13. The mathematical expectation is TRUE in every row if PlanMaker reproduces the documented rules on these inputs. An unexpected FALSE or formula error is an instruction to investigate—not evidence that a native PlanMaker test has already passed. This tolerance is for comparing floating-point calculations, not for deciding financial accuracy. Formatting a result to two decimal places does not itself perform MROUND. SoftMaker number-format help.

Evidence distinctions: Rows 2–4, 8–9 quote corresponding manufacturer-documented examples (using formula syntax with =); other rows are independently calculated mathematical expectations. They are useful test cases, but not vendor-confirmed test outputs or screenshots.

Imagine 22.5 units with a step of 5. The distance to 20 is 2.5, and the distance to 25 is also 2.5. SoftMaker says that when the remainder is greater than or equal to half of Base, MROUND rounds upward. That explains the documented =MROUND(22.5,5) → 25 result. For =MROUND(22,5), the remainder is 2, less than 2.5, so the documented result is 20. SoftMaker MROUND 2026.

For decimal increments, floating-point representation can complicate exact halfway comparisons. Do not promise that an apparent decimal midpoint in a stored binary value will tie exactly. Microsoft’s Excel MROUND support page separately acknowledges unspecified midpoint direction for certain decimal-multiple cases; that is Excel evidence, not proof of identical PlanMaker limitations. For critical workflows, design and test representative decimals in the installed PlanMaker build.

Enter raw estimated durations in H2:H5: 11, 12, 13, 14 minutes. Enter 5 in I2:I5. In J2, enter =MROUND(H2,I2) and fill through J5. Independently expected scheduled blocks are 10, 10, 15, 15 minutes. Their total is 50 minutes (compare the 50-minute sum of the four raw durations: 11+12+13+14=50, although individual schedule slots differ). =SUM(J2:J5) calculates the allocated total. This illustrates nearest-block planning, not minimum-coverage scheduling: if each task must receive at least its estimated time, CEILING is the appropriate comparison, not MROUND.

A wholesaler asks for H2 = 23 items with pack size H3 = 5. =MROUND(H2,H3) has expected nearest pack quantity 25. But if the need changes to H2 = 22, MROUND returns 20, which under-orders. In supply workflows that cannot tolerate a shortage, compare with =CEILING(H2,H3) and do not automatically choose MROUND. CEILING’s formula is verified against PlanMaker’s CEILING reference; any actual worksheet execution remains to be done.

With measured values H2 = 1.26, H3 = 0.05, =MROUND(H2,H3) mathematically yields 1.25. Change H2 to 1.28 and the mathematical answer is 1.30. To display two decimal places, use number formatting rather than treating display width as proof of underlying rounding. For cash, taxation, price presentation or audit trails, this example is only arithmetic; follow the applicable policy instead of inventing a universal financial rounding rule.

Place an editable increment J1 = 7, and a demand J2 = 32. The formula =MROUND(J2,$J$1) has independently expected result 35. When copying the calculation down a list of demands, the absolute $J$1 keeps the step size fixed. For example, if J3 = 25, =MROUND(J3,$J$1) mathematically yields 28. Keep Base positive. An empty, zero, text or negative increment should trigger an explicit input-review process rather than assuming a fallback value.

PlanMaker versions: The official English 2026, 2024 and 2021 function pages each display the same two-position MROUND(Number, Base) syntax and positive-Base requirement. That establishes documented inclusion in those manuals, not proven runtime support across every service pack, edition, device or locale. 2026 · 2024 · 2021.

Platforms and editions: SoftMaker’s Professional 2026 product page identifies Windows, macOS and Linux for that desktop release; its PlanMaker product page also describes the NX family on mobile platforms. Neither marketing source demonstrates that the present formulas were executed on any particular device. This guide has no edition-specific or mobile native test.

Excel is a separate calculation engine: Microsoft’s MROUND function documentation labels the arguments number and multiple and allows a documented =MROUND(-10,-3) → −9 example. SoftMaker instead says Base must be > 0, so importing such an Excel formula into PlanMaker should be treated as a compatibility risk, not assumed to work. Both vendors document positive-input nearest-multiple rules that imply MROUND(22,5)=20, but that alone cannot prove every .xlsx formula round trip, signed case, or numeric boundary will agree. Note separately that Microsoft documents #NUM! for mismatched argument signs; that Excel error claim is not asserted as a tested PlanMaker error.

Locales: Printed English syntax does not establish translated function names, semicolon input, decimal-comma input or other locale semantics. Verify the installed application’s input rules. Do not copy TextMaker formula syntax as evidence for PlanMaker: they are different products.

Official PlanMaker ROUND, official CEILING, official FLOOR and official TRUNC are vendor-verified function descriptions.

1. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026 MROUND: primary evidence for spelling, syntax, Base restriction, midpoint policy and vendor examples.
2. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2024 MROUND: historical check for same syntax and rule.
3. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021 MROUND: older version check; no platform execution.
4. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026 entering formulas: evidence for entering = and using Formula → Function.
5. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026 number formatting: display versus actual stored calculation.
6. Microsoft Excel MROUND: Excel-only syntax, negative Base example, and documented decimal-midpoint caveat; not PlanMaker execution evidence.
7. SoftMaker Office Professional 2026 product and PlanMaker NX product: platform and product-family context only.

Claim-to-evidence map: Syntax/Base/midpoint/manufacturer results → sources 1–3. Entering a formula and formatted output → 4–5. Excel comparisons and unresolved decimals → 6 plus source 1. Platform/edition summary → 7, with runtime expressly unverified. The 12 worksheet expected results and advanced calculations were independently modelled using decimal arithmetic, not obtained by executing PlanMaker or Excel.