The Time Value of Money calculator solves for one of five variables: Future Value, Present Value, Interest Rate, Payment, or Time Period. Open a client file, select the Calculators icon in the header, and choose Time Value of Money. It opens in a drawer so the advisor can calculate without leaving the current page.
The calculation updates as inputs change. There is no Calculate or Save button, and the saved calculator cards do not change Profile data, Goals, or another planning module.
How do I run a Time Value of Money calculation?
Open the Calculator dropdown and select the variable Kerdora should solve.
Enter the remaining visible inputs.
Choose Annual or Monthly under Compounding.
Choose Beginning of Year or End of Year under Timing.
Read the result at the bottom of the card. Kerdora labels a solved payment as Annual Payment or Monthly Payment based on the selected compounding frequency.
The field selected under Calculator is hidden because it is the unknown Kerdora is solving.
What do the Time Value of Money inputs mean?
Present Value is the balance at the beginning of the calculation.
Future Value is the balance at the end of the calculation.
Interest Rate is the annual percentage rate.
Payment is the recurring amount added or removed each compounding period.
Time Period (years) is the length of the calculation in years.
Compounding controls whether growth and payments are applied annually or monthly.
Timing controls whether the recurring payment occurs at the beginning or end of a compounding period. The visible choices are labeled Beginning of Year and End of Year.
With Annual compounding, Payment is an annual amount. With Monthly compounding, Payment is a monthly amount, while Interest Rate remains an annual percentage and Time Period remains years.
What sign convention does Time Value of Money use?
Kerdora uses a balance convention:
enter Present Value and Future Value as positive balances;
enter a positive Payment for money added to the balance; and
enter a negative Payment for money withdrawn from the balance.
For example, use a Present Value of $10,000, a Payment of $500, and Monthly compounding to model $500 added each month. Use -$500 to model a $500 monthly withdrawal.
This differs from some spreadsheet financial functions and from Kerdora's Versatile calculator. Versatile uses a positive Payment for a withdrawal, while Time Value of Money uses a positive Payment for an addition. Confirm which calculator is open before entering the payment.
Example: What will $10,000 grow to in five years?
To answer, “What will $10,000 be worth in five years at 4.5% with no new deposits?”:
Select Future Value under Calculator.
Enter
$10,000for Present Value.Enter
4.5%for Interest Rate.Enter
$0for Payment.Select Annual compounding.
Enter
5for Time Period (years).Read the Future Value result at the bottom of the card.
To model monthly deposits instead, select Monthly and enter the monthly deposit as a positive Payment.
How do I solve for a required payment or interest rate?
To solve for a payment:
Select Payment under Calculator.
Enter Present Value, Future Value, Interest Rate, and Time Period.
Choose Annual or Monthly compounding and the payment timing.
Read Annual Payment or Monthly Payment at the bottom.
A positive result is an amount that must be added each period. A negative result is an amount that can be withdrawn each period under the assumptions.
To solve for a return, select Interest Rate, enter Present Value, Future Value, Payment, and Time Period, then read the annual percentage result. The Interest Rate solver searches nonnegative annual rates. Use another analysis when the question requires a negative solved rate.
How do I save and compare more than one calculation?
Time Value of Money cards save automatically with the client file.
Select the pencil or double-click the card name, enter a useful name, and select Save.
Select Duplicate calculator to preserve the inputs in a second card.
Select Add another calculator to start a new blank card.
Select Clear to reset the card's values while keeping its name.
Select Delete calculator to remove the card.
The drag handle is visible, but card reordering is not currently saved. Use clear names to distinguish multiple cards.
Why does the result show N/A or look wrong?
Check these items:
Unknown variable. Confirm the Calculator dropdown is set to the value the advisor wants to solve.
Payment sign. Positive adds to the balance; negative withdraws from it.
Compounding. Under Monthly, Payment is monthly, not annual.
Rate format. Enter
4.5for 4.5%, not0.045.Time Period. Enter years even when Monthly compounding is selected.
Zero rate. Future Value supports a zero-rate calculation, but some Present Value or Payment combinations can return N/A at 0%.
Impossible or unsupported solution. Interest Rate does not solve for a negative rate, and combinations that cannot produce a valid logarithm or payment may return N/A.
For a Time Period solve, use Annual compounding. The current Time Period solver evaluates annual periods even if Monthly is selected.
What does Time Value of Money not do?
Time Value of Money uses a fixed rate and regular payment. It does not model year-specific cash flows, random return sequences, taxes, inflation, investment fees, account rules, or a household retirement plan. Use Versatile for a multi-year schedule and use a Goal for planning tied to client accounts, cash flow, and household assumptions.
The result depends entirely on the inputs. Confirm the sign, payment frequency, timing, compounding, and horizon before using it in a client conversation.