PlanMaker PV Function: Present Value of Payments and Investments
Use SoftMaker PlanMaker PV to discount regular payments or future balances, with fully worked inputs and documented syntax.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
PV calculates the present value that balances a fixed stream of payments and an optional future lump sum. SoftMaker’s =PV(6.5%/12,12*10,650) example gives approximately -57,244.52.
Availability and version history
- Introduced: Documented in the PlanMaker 2016 manual; the original introduction release and date remain unknown.
- Availability: Documented in the 2026 English reference; no final supported-version endpoint is established.
- Scope: Versioned documentation does not establish identical behavior in every desktop, mobile or localized build.
- Checked: October 14, 2026, against the official PV reference, with independent arithmetic. No native PlanMaker test.
Official syntax and arguments
=PV(Rate, NPer, Pmt [, FV] [, Type])
| Pos. | Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rate |
Yes | Interest/discount rate per payment period, numeric, e.g. 6%/12 for 0.5% monthly. |
| 2 | NPer |
Yes | Total number of equal payment periods, e.g. 3*12 for 36 months. |
| 3 | Pmt |
Yes | Constant periodic annuity/payment, a signed numeric value. |
| 4 | FV |
No | Balance or future value after the final payment. Omitted default is 0. |
| 5 | Type |
No | 0 or omitted = payment at the end of a period; 1 = payment at the beginning. |
The square brackets mark optional positional parameters; do not type them. If you need beginning-of-period payments without a terminal balance, include the fourth-position placeholder: =PV(rate,nper,pmt,0,1). The opposite of a cash flow often has the opposite sign, depending on whose perspective is modeled. For example, future positive receipts balance a negative investment today; future negative repayments balance a positive loan received today. These meanings follow SoftMaker’s PV definition and example.
Use the same time unit for Rate and NPer: 6% annual nominal rate with monthly payments means a rate of 6%/12 and periods of years*12. The English manual uses comma argument separators; verify separators and decimal characters in your installed language, because SoftMaker confirms function names are localized. Include a leading = for formulas as stated in PlanMaker formula basics.
Reproduce a loan-affordability calculation
Enter the values in a new worksheet:
| Cell | Meaning | Input |
|---|---|---|
| A2 | Annual nominal interest | Text label |
| B2 | Interest rate | 6% |
| A3 | Loan term, years | Text label |
| B3 | Years | 3 |
| A4 | Monthly loan payment paid | Text label |
| B4 | Cash payment | -100 |
| A5 | Amount those payments could finance | Text label |
| B5 | PV formula | =PV(B2/12,B3*12,B4) |
Expected result in B5: 3,287.10. A payment of 100 each month for 36 months at a fixed 0.5% monthly rate has a present value below the undiscounted 3,600. If you change B4 to positive 100 because you receive each payment, the computed PV becomes negative; sign direction represents the cash-flow perspective. This balances the amount borrowed now against the payments made later.
Vendor example cross-check: The official PV page states PV(6.5%/12,12*10,650)=-57244.52. Using the independent constant-annuity equation gives -57,244.5248179…, agreeing at two decimals. SoftMaker interprets the rate as 6.5% nominal annual / 12, with 120 monthly payments of 650.
Advanced examples with checked expected outputs
End-of-period versus beginning-of-period cash flows
Two 100-unit annual repayments over two years, discounted at 10%:
| Formula | Expected result | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
=PV(10%,2,-100) |
173.55 | Payments are made at year-end. |
=PV(10%,2,-100,0,1) |
190.91 | Payments are made at year-start; each is discounted for one fewer period. |
The examples deliberately supply FV=0 before Type=1. The payment-timing choices are from SoftMaker’s documented Type argument.
Value a future lump sum with no intervening payments
=PV(10%,2,0,-1210)
Expected present value: 1,000.00. A repayment of 1,210 in two years balances 1,000 received today at a 10% annual rate. Pmt=0 is valid for a model that has only a final cash flow. Positive/negative signs must reflect your own cash-flow direction.
Zero rate and simple payments
=PV(0,10,-100)
Expected value: 1,000.00. With no discounting, ten 100-unit payments total 1,000; this cash-flow sum gives the independent check.
Payment stream plus a final balance
=PV(10%,2,-100,-1000)
Expected value: 1,000.00. From the borrower’s perspective, 1,000 received today is balanced by two 100-unit interest payments and a 1,000 final principal repayment. Pmt and FV are negative because both are payments out. Use the same assumptions in any parallel FV or PMT calculation; changing the sign of just one component can make comparisons misleading.
Reproduce the result independently
The expected present value of a constant annuity can be checked algebraically. With periodic rate r, total periods n, period payment Pmt, future value FV, and payment timing t (0=end, 1=begin), evaluate:
PV = -( FV + Pmt*(1+r*t)*(((1+r)^n-1)/r) ) / (1+r)^n
When r=0, calculate the limiting form: PV = -(FV + Pmt*n) instead of dividing by zero. These are independent annuity equations. They assume equally spaced payments, a constant periodic rate and no fees/taxes. Do not round intermediate computations. If cash-flow dates are irregular, a constant-period PV model does not automatically handle them.
Troubleshooting and limits
| Symptom | Investigation |
|---|---|
| The magnitude is surprising | Confirm whether the inputs represent monthly or annual payments. Convert rate and number of periods consistently. |
| The result has the unexpected sign | Inspect Pmt and FV relative to the direction of money paid and received; reverse signs only after deciding the viewpoint. |
| Payments due immediately give same result as end payments | Check that Type=1 occupies the fifth argument and FV has a fourth-slot placeholder. If Pmt=0, Type normally has no financial effect. |
#NULL! |
SoftMaker’s general PlanMaker error catalogue associates this with malformed syntax (including wrong argument count and missing parentheses). |
#VALUE! |
The general error catalogue describes inappropriate argument types; confirm your rate/period/payment cells are numbers, not text. |
#NUM! |
The general error catalogue describes invalid/out-of-range numeric input. Specific PV bounds and coercion rules are not established by the short function page. |
| Function name or separators rejected | The language may use a localized function name and different delimiters; check the installed function dialog. |
| Result appears inconsistent after imported workbook opens | Verify numeric storage vs displayed currency rounding, payment timing and sign conventions. Recalculate after importing rather than assuming identical behavior across apps. |
PV is appropriate for constant rates and periodic payments; it does not account for varying discount rates, risk premiums, taxes, early prepayments or inflation unless incorporated into the underlying model. A present-value result depends on the assumptions supplied.
Related guides and workbook portability
PMT solves for a constant payment. NPV discounts a sequence of periodic cash flows with different amounts. Keep rates, periods and cash-flow signs consistent when comparing results. Similar function names in another spreadsheet do not prove identical solver behavior, locale syntax or imported-file recalculation.