CEILING.PRECISE Function in Excel: Round Up to a Multiple (Sign-Safe)

CEILING.PRECISE Function in Excel: Round Up to a Multiple (Sign-Safe) 1
⏱ 1 min readUpdated 5 October 2026

Maths & trigLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2010+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. CEILING.PRECISE in practice
  5. Where you will use it
  6. Worked example
  7. Mistakes people make
  8. Related functions

CEILING.PRECISE rounds up to a multiple regardless of the signs of number and significance; negatives round toward zero.

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Syntax

=CEILING.PRECISE(number, [significance])
Argument What it means
number Value
significance Multiple (sign ignored), default 1

Examples

Example 1

=CEILING.PRECISE(A2,B2)

Result: 5. See the worked example table below for more cases.

CEILING.PRECISE in practice

Where you will use it

  • Billing slabs that may include credits
  • Rounding with mixed signs
  • Compatibility with other spreadsheets

Worked example

ValueStepFormulaResult
4.31=CEILING.PRECISE(A2,B2)5
-4.32=CEILING.PRECISE(A3,B3)-4
22-5=CEILING.PRECISE(A4,B4)25

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Expecting negatives away from zero-4.3 goes to -4
Older ExcelNeeds 2010+

CEILING.MATH · ISO.CEILING

📚 Part of the free Excel course: Beginner → Expert · Try it in the Formula Lab or ask the AI Helper.

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