FV in WPS Spreadsheet: Accumulate Regular Cash Flows to a Future Value
Calculate WPS future value with explicit periodic rates, signed deposits and end-versus-beginning payment timing, checked by an independent balance schedule.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Quick answer: =FV(0.1,3,-100,-1000,0) has independent expected future value 1662. It models an initial outflow of 1000 and three end-of-period outflows of 100 at a hypothetical 10% rate per period.
Syntax and defaults
=FV(rate,nper,pmt,pv,type)
Rate is the rate per payment period; nper is the total period count; pmt is the constant payment; pv is the present amount; type controls payment timing. The WPS lesson specifies 0 or omitted for period end, and 1 for period beginning. It says omitted pv is zero and requires pmt in that case; if pmt is omitted, pv must be supplied. The worked formulas keep every argument explicit, including a zero payment when appropriate.
Negative pv and pmt represent contributions paid out from the saver’s viewpoint. The positive result represents the future amount received. Entering positive pv and pmt instead reverses the result’s sign; it does not change the magnitude of the same linear cash-flow calculation.
Complete worksheet example
Enter these numbers in a fresh sheet:
| Cell | Meaning | Value |
|---|---|---|
| A2 | Rate per period | 0.1 |
| A3 | Number of periods | 3 |
| A4 | End-of-period payment | −100 |
| A5 | Initial present amount | −1000 |
| A6 | Timing type | 0 |
Enter =FV(A2,A3,A4,A5,A6) in B2. The expected result is 1662.
An independent positive-balance schedule explains the result. Starting with 1000, apply interest and then add each deposit:
| Period | Opening balance | After 10% interest | After deposit of 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1000 | 1100 | 1200 |
| 2 | 1200 | 1320 | 1420 |
| 3 | 1420 | 1562 | 1662 |
The schedule’s positive balances describe the accumulated amount; the function’s negative input cash flows describe contributions made by the saver. These are consistent viewpoints, not contradictory signs.
Beginning-of-period comparison
Change only type to 1: =FV(0.1,3,-100,-1000,1) has expected value 1695.1. Deposits now precede each period’s interest, giving successive balances 1210, 1441 and 1695.1. Each of the three deposits earns one additional period of interest compared with the end-payment model.
The initial amount’s growth is unchanged by this timing switch. It is the regular payment stream that moves. Do not multiply the entire end-payment future value by 1.1; that would also give the initial amount an extra period it was not assigned.
Advanced controls and interpretation
With no regular payment, =FV(0.1,3,0,-1000,0) gives 1331, independently equal to 1000×1.1³. With zero interest, the documented common equation reduces =FV(0,3,-100,-1000,0) to 1300: the initial amount plus three contributions.
The sign-reversed formula =FV(0.1,3,100,1000,0) gives −1662. Avoid removing a minus sign merely to make a report look positive; first establish which party’s cash flows are being modelled.
The hypothetical rate here is deliberately simple for hand calculation. It is per period and is not a promised annual return. If a model uses monthly payments, provide a monthly rate and a count of months. The function does not infer those units from the worksheet labels.
Shared annuity model and limitations
The official WPS PV lesson prints the common annuity equation. For nonzero rate r and timing t, it balances the signed values as follows:
pv*(1+r)^n + pmt*(1+r*t)*((1+r)^n-1)/r + fv = 0
Its zero-rate branch is pv + pmt*n + fv = 0. The worked expectations solve this documented identity or independently accumulate/discount the same cash flows. They do not establish WPS’s internal numerical algorithm or a precision guarantee.
Use one consistent cash-flow viewpoint: amounts paid out are negative and amounts received are positive. Rate and period count must describe the same interval. Dividing an annual rate by 12 is appropriate for the nominal monthly convention shown in the lessons; it is not a universal conversion from every kind of quoted annual return.
The examples assume constant rates and regular equal payments. They do not include taxes, fees, changing rates, irregular dates or a product-specific repayment policy. The official lessons do not provide complete invalid-input/error tables, so no native error codes, fractional-argument coercion or invalid timing behavior are asserted. These are arithmetic examples, not recommendations for a financial product or a legally prescribed accounting treatment.
Evidence and version scope
The official WPS Academy FV lesson, published 2019-05-28, explicitly applies to WPS Office for Windows Personal. It was reviewed on October 18, 2026. The numeric build, introduction release and last supported version remain unknown. The source does not identify this function as deprecated or retired. Support in Linux, other editions and other platforms is not established by this lesson.
The worked examples are original mathematical expectations based on the official contract and formula illustration. They were not executed in WPS. Historical vendor demonstrations are documentation, not our application tests; no screenshot or runtime precision guarantee is supplied. English names and comma separators follow the lesson. Localized entry, workbook interchange and exact output formatting require verification in the intended client.