How to Use Excel to Calculate Your ROI

Track your returns on investment.

Active investors must continually track the return on investment (ROI) for each of their transactions. The ROI for any particular investment is usually expressed as a percentage and is calculated by subtracting the cost basis of the investment from its current value, then dividing the result by the cost basis. The result will be a decimal that can be converted to a percentage by multiplying it by 100. You can calculate and keep track of the ROIs for all of your investments using Excel, Microsoft's popular spreadsheet program. Setting up the formula for the calculation in Excel is easy to do.

Instructions

1. Create a new Excel spreadsheet.

2. Label the first row of column A "Investment Name", column B "Cost Basis", column C "Present Value", and column D "ROI".

3. Copy and paste this formula in cell D2:

   =(C2-B2)/B2*100

   This formula will calculate the ROI for the investment data you place in cells B2 and C2 and is based on this formula:

   ROI = (Present Value of Investment - Cost Basis) / Cost Basis x 100 percent

4. Input the data for your first investment in cells A2 B2, and C2, and the ROI for that investment will be displayed in cell D2.

References

• Investopedia: Return on Investment