SLN in WPS Spreadsheet: Allocate Equal Depreciation to Each Period

=SLN(cost,salvage,life)

All three arguments are required:

• cost: original asset value.
• salvage: residual value at the end of the depreciation life.
• life: number of periods over which the depreciable amount is allocated.

The straight-line calculation is (cost−salvage)/life. Unlike a period-specific accelerated function, SLN has no current-period argument. For unchanged assumptions, every equal-length period receives the same amount.

The unit of life determines the output’s period. A life of 5 years produces an annual amount; 60 months produces a monthly amount. The function does not infer units from a cell label or automatically convert years to months.

On a fresh worksheet, enter these numeric values:

Enter =SLN(A2,A3,A4) in A6. The independent expected result is 2000. This is an annual charge under the stated five-year assumption.

A simple independently calculated schedule is:

The final value equals the specified salvage amount. This schedule is a mathematical allocation using the function’s documented meaning, not an observed WPS workbook.

If the same five-year life is represented as 60 equal monthly periods, =SLN(12000,2000,60) has expected result 166.6666666667 per month, approximately. Multiplying the unrounded value by 60 gives the same total depreciation of 10000.

Rounding each month to 166.67 and adding those rounded amounts instead gives 10000.20. That twenty-cent difference is a rounding effect, not a change in the straight-line model. Keep sufficient calculation precision and apply the rounding policy required by the reporting process; this function does not choose that policy or a final-period adjustment for you.

As another control, =SLN(10000,1000,3) is 3000 per period. Changing the life to one period in the main example gives =SLN(12000,2000,1) = 10000.

The cited lesson establishes the straight-line purpose, three inputs and a complete positive-life demonstration. It does not supply a detailed error table. This guide uses positive whole-number lives and cost greater than nonnegative salvage, and does not assign native error codes or coercion behavior to zero life, negative values, text, empty cells or omitted arguments.

A noninteger life, partial first period, acquisition date or disposal date requires separate policy decisions and evidence. SLN’s signature contains no date arguments and cannot, by itself, infer how many days of a period an asset was in use. Do not add a prorating rule merely because a spreadsheet can multiply the result by a fraction.

The calculated charge is an allocation under given assumptions, not a market valuation or cash payment. The example explains function mechanics; it does not establish which depreciation method is permitted for a tax return, jurisdiction or financial statement.

The official WPS Academy SLN lesson, published 2019-06-11, 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.

• SYD: allocate a larger charge to earlier periods.