📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓
In this article
Two projects each cost ₹10 lakh. A pays more early, B more later.
| Project A | Project B | |
|---|---|---|
| NPV at 10% | ₹67,255 | ₹99,410 |
| IRR | 12.64% | 13.01% |
| Payback | Year 4 | Year 4 |
NPV: =NPV(10%, B3:B7) + B2 ' year-0 outflow added separately
IRR: =IRR(B2:B7)
Payback year: =XMATCH(TRUE, SCAN(0, B2:B7, LAMBDA(a,v,a+v)) >= 0) - 1NPV() treats the first value as one period away. Including the year-0 investment inside it under-states NPV. Add it outside, as above.XIRR for real dates
An SIP of ₹10,000 a month for 24 months worth ₹2,85,000 at the end: XIRR uses the actual dates of every flow.
=XIRR(cash_flows, dates) → 17.24% a yearInvested: ₹2,40,000. Simple “gain / invested” (18.75%) ignores that most money was invested for less than two years; XIRR doesn’t.
Practice
Download the workbook below. Type your formula in the yellow column; the Check column turns green when it matches Excel’s own answer, and the Answers sheet has a working formula for every task. Tax rates and limits in the examples are for practice; verify current rules before real use.
Test formulas dynamically in our web formula laboratory or download the companion Excel workbook.
📎 Practice files for this article
- 📗Practice workbookTwo projects plus a 24-month SIP, 8 tasks.⬇ XLSX · 15 KB
Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.
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