In some investment instruments, the entire interest payment is made at the maturity date, rather than in periodic coupon installments. These are often short-term notes or zero-coupon debt instruments with interest. Excel’s YIELDMAT function is designed to calculate the annual yield of such securities—helping investors accurately compare returns on different types of debt instruments.

In fixed-income investing, some securities—like Treasury bills (T-bills) and commercial paper—are sold at a discount and do not pay periodic interest. Instead, investors earn the difference between the purchase price and the face value at maturity. The YIELDDISC function in Excel calculates the annual yield on these discount (zero-coupon) securities, offering a straightforward way to evaluate their returns.

In real-world finance, investments and cash flows rarely happen on a fixed monthly or annual schedule. Payments and returns often occur at irregular intervals, making simple IRR calculations unreliable. This is where Excel’s XIRR function comes in—a powerful tool for computing the true annualized rate of return when cash flows do not occur at regular periods.

When investing in Treasury Bills (T-bills), it's essential to understand how much to pay today for a future return. Since T-bills are zero-coupon securities sold at a discount, the price you pay is always less than their face value. Excel’s TBILLPRICE function helps investors and analysts quickly determine the current purchase price of a T-bill based on its discount rate and time to maturity.

In fixed-income investing, Treasury bills (T-bills) are one of the most common short-term government securities. They are zero-coupon instruments, sold at a discount and redeemed at face value. While the discount rate is traditionally used to quote yields on T-bills, it's not directly comparable to bond-equivalent yields used for other instruments. That's where Excel's TBILLEQ function becomes essential.

In asset accounting, depreciation methods significantly impact the timing of expense recognition. While the straight-line method spreads depreciation evenly, some organizations prefer to front-load depreciation, especially for assets that lose value faster in earlier years. Enter Excel’s SYD function—a built-in tool for calculating accelerated depreciation using the Sum-of-Years' Digits (SYD) method

In the world of fixed-income investing, discount instruments like Treasury bills and commercial paper are sold below face value and mature at full par. To calculate the maturity amount for such investments, Excel offers the RECEIVED function—a simple yet powerful tool for financial professionals, investors, and analysts. This article explains how to use the RECEIVED function, where it applies, and how it supports financial modeling for short-term investments.

The Excel RATE function answers that question by calculating the periodic interest rate for loans, annuities, or investments based on known payment terms. It's especially useful when other values (payment, term, future/present value) are known, but the rate is unknown. This article explains how to use RATE effectively—from simple loans to more advanced financial models.

In traditional bond structures, interest is paid periodically (e.g., semiannually). However, some bonds—such as short-term notes, certificates of deposit, or zero-coupon instruments with accrued interest—pay interest only at maturity. Excel’s PRICEMAT function is designed specifically to calculate the price per $100 face value of such instruments. This article walks through the PRICEMAT function, detailing its structure, use cases, and financial modeling insights.

In fixed-income analysis, not all securities pay periodic interest. Instruments like Treasury bills, commercial paper, and zero-coupon bonds are issued at a discount and redeemed at full face value. To determine their price based on a given discount rate, Excel provides the PRICEDISC function. This article explores the PRICEDISC function from a professional finance perspective, including its purpose, structure, usage examples, and best practices.

In financial analysis, especially when dealing with fixed-income securities, accurately calculating the price of a bond is essential. Excel’s PRICE function is a built-in tool designed for this purpose—it computes the price per $100 face value of a bond, given expected yield, maturity, and coupon rate. This article provides a detailed overview of t

The NOMINAL function in Excel helps you calculate the nominal annual interest rate when you know the effective interest rate and the number of compounding periods per year. Effective Rate = Actual rate you earn (includes compounding) Nominal Rate = Stated rate (ignores compounding) In simple terms: NOMINAL gives you the “advertised” annual interest rate based on how many times the interest is compounded.

The IRR function in Excel calculates the Internal Rate of Return for a series of cash flows (payments and income).It is used heavily in finance and investment analysis to measure and compare the profitability of different projects or investments. In simple words:IRR tells you how profitable your investment is, shown as a percentage

The INTRATE function in Excel calculates the interest rate for a fully invested security between two dates. It is mainly used for short-term investments, such as Treasury bills, where the security does not pay periodic interest (zero-coupon bonds). In simple words: It finds the simple interest rate earned over a specific period.

The COUPPCD function in Excel returns the previous coupon date before the settlement date of a bond. In other words, it helps you determine the last interest payment date that occurred before you purchased the bond. This function is useful for accrued interest calculations, bond pricing, and financial reporting.

The COUPNUM function in Excel calculates the number of coupon periods between the settlement date and the maturity date of a bond. In simple words, it tells you how many interest payments are left for the bond from the purchase date until it matures. This function is very useful for bond investment analysis, amortization schedules, and pricing bonds.

The COUPNCD function in Excel returns the next coupon date after the settlement date of a bond.In simple words, it helps you find out when the bond will make its next interest payment after you purchase it. This function is very helpful in bond investment calculations, pricing, and financial reporting.

The COUPDAYSNC function in Excel calculates the number of days from the settlement date to the next coupon date for a bond. In simple terms, it answers:"How many days are left until the next interest payment?"

The COUPDAYS function in Excel returns the number of days in the coupon period that contains the settlement date of a bond.In other words, it tells you how many days are in the full coupon period (between two coupon payments) where your purchase date falls.

The COUPDAYBS function in Excel calculates the number of days from the beginning of the coupon period to the settlement date of a bond. It’s mainly used when working with bonds and fixed-income securities that pay periodic interest (coupons).