Replacing the fixed-origin difference with one direct call
E2 explicitly requires zero-origin cumulative charges. Direct fractional-start automatic-switch behavior is not assumed equivalent.
Allocate a partial-year window from one fixed origin
Read-only
Step-by-step guide · read-only ·
Loading your interactive spreadsheet…
Preparing the worksheet and formulas…
Data & tools
Task requirements
Enter separate formulas in E2:E5. B2:B4 are cost, salvage and whole useful years; B6 is the declining factor. B8 and B9 are elapsed-year window endpoints with 0 <= start <= end <= life. E2 is the difference between automatic-switch cumulative VDB charges from time zero through end and from time zero through start. E3 is the direct VDB charge over the window with no_switch TRUE. E4 and E5 are initial cost less cumulative charges from zero through end with switching allowed and with no switching. Keep fractional years and unrounded amounts.
Edit an allocation input
Apply a numeric literal to the current worksheet. Cost and salvage use cents; years, fiscal months and elapsed-year boundaries use the units shown below. The complete input relationships are checked before a value is applied.
Applied value:
Follow the highlighted cells. Switch to Your turn to edit. Answer cells: E2, E3, E4, E5. Browser calculations may differ from your Excel version.
Selection & formula search
Practice stays on this device. No worksheet data is uploaded.
Notes & examples
About this lesson
Reconcile fractional-year VDB allocations and closing values with and without straight-line switching.
THE QUICK ANSWER01
Reconcile fractional-year VDB allocations and closing values with and without straight-line switching.
E2
=VDB($B$2,$B$3,$B$4,0,$B$9,$B$6,FALSE)-VDB($B$2,$B$3,$B$4,0,$B$8,$B$6,FALSE)E3
=VDB($B$2,$B$3,$B$4,$B$8,$B$9,$B$6,TRUE)E4
=$B$2-VDB($B$2,$B$3,$B$4,0,$B$9,$B$6,FALSE)E5
=$B$2-VDB($B$2,$B$3,$B$4,0,$B$9,$B$6,TRUE)For the example data
E2 6359.537692628072E3 6243.765777864665E4 840.4623073719285E5 956.2342221353356
Enter each formula in its labeled answer cell. These report formulas perform different jobs; do not fill the first formula down.
How it works
One origin makes adjacent windows reconcilable
Define cumulative allocation C(t) from time zero. The window allocation is C(end) minus C(start). Adjacent window differences telescope to the complete cumulative allocation, even when a boundary is fractional or the annual plan switches methods.
Direct fractional-start calls are a separate contract
The pinned engine returns different automatic-switch amounts for some direct fractional-start calls. This task deliberately specifies the difference of two zero-origin calls, rather than claiming those forms are equivalent. Native Excel and Sheets behavior remains a separate check.
A lower closing value is an allocation result
Automatic switching can allocate more than an unswitched low-factor method by the end of useful life. The comparison keeps cost, salvage, life and factor fixed; it describes model outputs, not a choice of tax treatment.
Keep the declared numeric model
Cost is numeric cents from 1 through 1,000,000; salvage is numeric cents from zero through cost. Useful life is a whole 1–20 years. A selected year is a whole 1–life. A declining factor is 0.5–3. First-year months are whole 1–12. Window endpoints satisfy 0 <= start <= end <= life. Text, blank, Boolean and genuine error inputs cannot stand in for these numbers. Calculated amounts retain full precision.
Read the full step-by-step walkthrough
- Use elapsed-year boundaries
The start and end are points on the same fixed useful-life timeline. A window from 0.5 through 2.25 spans 1.75 years, not two selected annual periods.
- Keep the switching plan anchored at zero
For E2 calculate each cumulative value from zero, then subtract start from end. This preserves one fixed-origin allocation plan; it does not assume a direct fractional-start VDB call is interchangeable.
- Compare an explicitly unswitched window
Use the direct interval and TRUE in E3. Unswitched declining charges are capped at salvage; year fractions allocate a proportion of the relevant annual charge.
- Reconcile closing carrying values
Each closing value starts from original cost and subtracts all allocated charges from time zero through end. Subtracting only the window charge would lose the amount allocated before start.
- Inspect the switching decision
On a fixed annual plan, compare the remaining straight-line amount per remaining year with the declining amount. Once the former is larger, switching distributes the remaining depreciable base across those years.
- Retain a zero-width window
Equal endpoints produce numeric zero interval charges. Closing carrying values still reflect the full time from zero to that endpoint.
Things to watch
Subtracting only the interval from original cost
Closing value includes all prior allocation, not just the current reporting window.
Rounding fractional endpoints to whole years
Keep the actual elapsed-year endpoints. A zero-width interval is valid, and partial periods carry proportional charges.
About this example
Original bounded source cases checked with real Univer formulas and independent annual recurrences/overlap arithmetic. The VDB switching-window task explicitly uses cumulative zero-origin differences; it does not certify direct fractional-start equivalence or native clients.
Content version 1. Practice checks compare calculated results across different datasets; they do not certify every possible formula.