SLN Function in SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026: Syntax, Worked Examples & Troubleshooting

Use SLN when you want the same depreciation expense every period. Unlike a decreasing-balance schedule, this method divides the depreciable amount evenly across the asset’s useful life. Examples include simple budgets for equipment, tools or computers. It does not choose an accounting or tax policy for you; check the applicable policy before using it in financial statements or tax reporting.

=SLN(Cost, Salvage, Life)

All three arguments are required; PlanMaker documents no optional parameters or defaults.

The documented annual expense can be checked using (Cost − Salvage) / Life. There is no Per parameter: SLN returns the same expense for any individual period; it does not specify a year number. The formula is meaningful only if useful life is positive. The accounting example also assumes cost is not below salvage. Official PlanMaker 2026 SLN reference.

Open a blank worksheet and enter numeric data (do not type a currency symbol into the value itself):

In B6, enter:

=SLN(B2,B3,B4)

Expected B6 result: 600 units per year. Independent cross-check: (6000−3000)/5 = 600. Over five complete years, 5×600 = 3000, leaving the stated salvage value of 3000. A currency format may show $600.00 or the local currency; the underlying value remains 600.

Keep the first sample intact. In a separate area enter E2 = 12000, E3 = 2000, and E4 = 4. Put =SLN(E2,E3,E4) in E6; expected result is 2500 per year. Then put period numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 in F10:F13. In G10 enter and copy down through G13:

=$E$2-F10*$E$6

This is a simple end-of-period schedule. The dollar signs lock the initial cost and SLN result while the period cell changes when filled down. A more explicit check in H10 is =$E$2-G10; expected accumulated depreciation in year 1 is 2500. For a schedule including partial first years or changing useful lives, do not assume this simplified model alone is sufficient.

For the same Cost=12000, Salvage=2000, Life=4, straight-line depreciation stays 2500 each period. By contrast, PlanMaker’s SYD method allocates 4000, 3000, 2000, 1000, reflecting more expense early in the useful life. The methods total the same 10000 depreciable base for this example, but the timing differs. PlanMaker has separate SLN, SYD, DDB, and DB functions; they are not aliases or substitutes in accounting policy.

• Division by zero / invalid useful life: Check Life is a positive number of periods. The calculation (Cost−Salvage)/Life cannot be evaluated for zero life. PlanMaker lists #DIV/0! among its general error values; the exact outcome for a particular invalid SLN call was not natively tested.
• Unexpected negative expense: Recheck whether Salvage is greater than Cost; that is usually not a conventional depreciation scenario. Do not present a negative arithmetic result as a legitimate depreciation policy without review.
• Wrong scale: Five years means Life=5; five months means Life=5 months. If entering 60 months instead, the formula calculates a per-month expense.
• Formula treated as text or rejected: Confirm the opening =, numeric cells, closing parenthesis and regional separator. For unknown names or wrong argument counts, PlanMaker’s general error table mentions #NULL!; the mapping to this individual function was not tested.
• Imported Excel files: Confirm the three inputs, the selected number format, and the resulting value. Identical English syntax does not prove all workbook formats or regional settings behave identically.

Microsoft documents SLN(cost,salvage,life) with the same three required arguments and straight-line meaning in current Excel. Only the shared syntax and mathematical description have been verified, not imported-file execution in PlanMaker. The Excel source is listed below separately so Excel rules are not used as PlanMaker evidence.

The exact function and parameter order above are documented in the English PlanMaker 2026/NX reference and also in the 2024 reference; no substantive syntax change was identified between those pages. This establishes documentation coverage, not native execution in every edition. SoftMaker describes PlanMaker for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, but the individual function pages do not provide per-edition/mobile execution guarantees. Validate in the installed edition, especially in mobile or imported workbooks.

The examples use commas between arguments and a decimal point because that is the notation in the cited English references. Regional decimal settings can differ; use the argument separator shown by the installed Formula → Function dialog, and retain the same argument order. In PlanMaker enter the leading = before a formula; this is explicitly documented in its 2026 formula-entry guide. Formatting a numeric result as currency or percent changes its appearance, not the underlying arithmetic.

What was checked: Official vendor documentation and independently implemented arithmetic, with separate evidence records. What was not checked: native PlanMaker/Excel calculations, actual localized keyboards, screenshots, all Android/iOS functions. All example outputs are expected, not observed application results.

• SYD: accelerated depreciation (SoftMaker 2026) — period-weighted expense.
• DDB: declining-balance depreciation (SoftMaker 2026) — declining remaining balance.
• DB: fixed-declining-balance depreciation (SoftMaker 2026) — different declining-balance model.

Sources accessed 2026-10-12. PlanMaker 2026 is the primary authority on this function; the 2024 page checks historical syntax, and Microsoft documents Excel behaviour only. Independent arithmetic is supplied so readers can reproduce the examples but is not a substitute for running PlanMaker.

• SoftMaker, PlanMaker 2026 — SLN reference (syntax, arguments, behaviour).
• SoftMaker, PlanMaker 2024 — SLN reference (version comparison).
• SoftMaker, Entering formulas in PlanMaker 2026 (leading equals sign, Function dialog).
• SoftMaker, PlanMaker 2026 error values (general error categories, not experimentally verified SLN error mapping).
• Microsoft, Excel SLN documentation (Excel-specific compatibility; not proof of PlanMaker runtime behaviour).