PlanMaker NEG: Reverse signs and retain the Excel-export caveat

The PlanMaker 2026 reference, 2024 reference and 2021 reference were retrieved and read on October 15, 2026. These establish documented operation in those manual families, not an original introduction or a last-working-version endpoint. Both historical endpoints remain unverified. Specific FreeOffice/mobile editions and every desktop build are outside the checked scope.

The examples are documentation-backed and independently calculated or modeled. No native PlanMaker execution, screenshot, export or import test was performed. The English formulas use commas where multiple arguments are needed; localized names and separators need checking in the installed version.

Number is one required numeric input; there is no documented optional default. SoftMaker gives NEG(42)=−42, NEG(−42)=42 and NEG(0)=0. It also states the arithmetic replacement: NEG(x) equals *(-1)x.

The replacement explains the operation without relying on an unsupported function in a destination workbook. It is not proof that an entire workbook has been successfully exported or recalculated elsewhere. No native export or destination test was performed.

Create SignReversal with Input, NEG_result, Product_check and Difference in A1:D1. Enter these numeric A values and fill B2 =NEG(A2), C2 =(-1)*A2 and D2 =B2-C2 through row 9.

NEG does not take an absolute value. Applying it to -42 produces +42, whereas applying it to +42 produces -42. The operation is a full sign reversal, not a request to make every result positive or every result negative.

On a copy, change A5 from 2.5 to -2.5. B5/C5 become 2.5, and D5 stays zero. A double reversal =NEG(NEG(A5)) is mathematically equal to the original A5 for these ordinary finite inputs.

Create Adjustments, with Gross, Credit_magnitude, Signed_credit and Net in A1:D1. Enter numeric pairs (100,15), (80,0), (60,10), (40,5) in A2:B5. The credit column deliberately stores nonnegative magnitudes. Fill C2 =NEG(B2) and D2 =A2+C2 through row 5.

Expected signed credits are −15,0,−10,−5 and net values 85,80,50,35. Gross totals 280, credit magnitudes total 30, signed credits total −30 and net totals 250. These are arithmetic examples, not a financial policy or instruction to post transactions.

In a copy, change B2 from 15 to 20. C2 becomes −20, D2 becomes 80 and the net total becomes 245. If a source already stores credits as negative values, blindly applying NEG would reverse them into additions. Define the source convention before using the formula.

PlanMaker’s Excel warning matters even when the displayed value initially looks right. Simulate it on a copy by replacing C2 with fixed numeric −15, then changing B2 from 15 to 20. The fixed C2 stays −15 and D2 stays 85; a live NEG or multiplication formula would update them to −20 and 80.

This exercise models the vendor-described loss of a formula dependency. It is not a claim that a file was saved in Excel format. To verify a real transfer, inspect whether the formula survives, change an input in the destination and recalculate the saved workbook.

The reference does not give a full coercion, error-propagation or extreme-number table. Text, blanks, unsupported types, negative zero and overflow boundaries are not certified by the small numeric fixture. Keep original numeric inputs and do not infer a result from display formatting alone.

ABS discards the sign, while SIGN reports a sign category. Neither is a direct replacement for multiplying by −1. The documented arithmetic alternative and the export caveat should travel together when maintaining a portable workbook.

Record the exact product/build, edition, platform, language and workbook format. Recreate the original cells, inspect the actual formulas and apply each changed-input control on a separate copy. Verify saved-file recalculation and destination compatibility independently; neither follows merely from a matching displayed result.