Apple iWork '09 - Manual (Page 149)

Chapter 6 Financial Functions 149
VDB
The VDB (variable declining balance) function returns the amount of depreciation of
an asset over a chosen time interval, based on a specified depreciation rate.
VDB(cost, salvage, life, starting-per, ending-per, depr-factor, no-switch)
 cost: The initial cost of the asset. cost is a number value and must be greater than or
equal to 0.
 salvage: The salvage value of the asset. salvage is a number value and must be
greater than or equal to 0.
 life: The number of periods over which the asset is depreciating. life is a number
value and must be greater than 0. A decimal (fractional) part of life is allowed (for
example, 5.5 for a five and one-half year depreciable life).
 starting-per: First period to include in the calculation. starting-per is a number value.
 ending-per: Last period to include in the calculation. ending-per is a number value
and must be greater than 0 and greater than starting-per.
 depr-factor: An optional number that determines the depreciation rate. depr-factor
is a number value. If omitted, 2 (200% for double-declining) is assumed. The higher
the number, the more rapid the depreciation. For example, if a depreciation rate of
one and one-half times the straight line depreciation is desired, use 1.5 or 150%.
 no-switch: An optional value indicating whether depreciation switches over to the
straight-line method.
switch (0, FALSE, or omitted): Switch to the straight line method in the year that
straight-line depreciation exceeds declining balance depreciation.
no switch (1, TRUE): Do not switch to the straight-line method.
Usage Notes
 starting-per should be specified as the period prior to the first period you wish to
include in the calculation. If you wish to include the first period, use 0 for starting-per.
If you wish to determine depreciation that includes only the first period,
 ending-per
should be 1.
Examples
Assume you have purchased an asset at a cost of $11,000.00, that it has a salvage value of $1,000.00,
and that it has an estimated useful life of 5 years. You intend to depreciate the asset using the 1.5
(150%) declining balance method.
=VDB(11000, 1000, 5, 0, 1, 1.5, 0) returns $3,300, the depreciation for the first year.
=VDB(11000, 1000, 5, 4, 5, 1.5, 0) returns $1,386.50, the depreciation for the fifth (last) year, assuming
straight-line depreciation is used when greater than the declining-balance depreciation.
=VDB(11000, 1000, 5, 4, 5, 1.5, 1) returns $792.33, the depreciation for the fifth (last) year, assuming that
declining-balance depreciation is used at all times (no-switch is TRUE).