FormulaPad for FP&A and finance
Variance analysis, NPV discounting, weighted averages, scenario tables — FormulaPad writes them in plain English. Less time fighting syntax, more time interpreting the numbers.
Sound familiar?
- •NPV vs XNPV — which one handles irregular cash flow dates?
- •Variance % with sign convention that does not break when actuals are negative.
- •Weighted-average capital cost across 5 debt instruments.
- •Scenario table with INDEX/MATCH where scenario names are in a picker.
- •Forecast rollforward formulas that break when new columns are inserted.
FormulaPad speaks finance. It knows XNPV beats NPV for real-world cash flows, guards variance formulas against zero baselines, and writes scenario logic that survives column inserts.
Formulas you will actually use
Variance percentage
Calculate variance % in column C as actual (column B) minus budget (column A) divided by budget, handling zero budget
=IF(A2=0, 0, (B2-A2)/A2)Zero-baseline guard prevents #DIV/0 when budget is blank.
XNPV for irregular cash flows
Calculate NPV at 10% for cash flows in column B on dates in column A
=XNPV(0.10, B2:B20, A2:A20)XNPV handles non-periodic dates correctly. Do not use NPV for real deals.
Weighted average cost
Calculate weighted average interest rate across debt balances in column B with rates in column C
=SUMPRODUCT(B2:B10, C2:C10) / SUM(B2:B10)SUMPRODUCT over parallel ranges, divided by the weight total. Classic pattern.
Scenario lookup
Look up revenue for the scenario named in cell F1 from a table where column A is scenario name and column B is revenue
=INDEX(B:B, MATCH(F1, A:A, 0))INDEX/MATCH survives column inserts. Prefer over VLOOKUP.
FAQ
Can it generate complex three-statement models?
It generates individual formulas — not full model structures. But every line in a model is a formula and FormulaPad accelerates those.
Does it know about Excel precision issues?
It avoids well-known pitfalls (floating point near-equal comparisons, circular refs in iterative models).
Other roles
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