The Excel CEILING function is categorized under Math and Trigonometry functions. The function will return a number that is rounded up to a supplied number that is away from zero to the nearest multiple of a given number. MS Excel 2016 handles both positive and negative arguments.
The function is very useful in financial analysis as it helps in setting the price after currency conversion, discounts, etc. When preparing financial models, CEILING helps us round up the numbers as per the requirement. For example, if we provide =CEILING(10,5), the function will round off to the nearest 5 dollars.
Syntax: =CEILING(number, significance)
The CEILING function syntax has the following arguments:
- Number (required argument) – This is the value that we wish to round off.
- Significance (required argument) – This is the multiple that we wish to round up to. It would use the same arithmetic sign (positive or negative) as per the provided number argument.
Example: Let’s look at some Excel CEILING function examples and explore how to use the CEILING function as a worksheet function in Microsoft Excel:
Syntax: =CEILING(C2,D2)
Result:
Based on the Excel spreadsheet above, the following CEILING examples would return:
Syntax: =CEILING(C3,D3)
Result: 6
Syntax: =CEILING(C4,D4)
Result: -3
Syntax: =CEILING(C5,D5)
Result: -4
Syntax: =CEILING(C6,D6)
Result: -2
Syntax: =CEILING(C7,D7)
Result: -2
Syntax: =CEILING(C8,D8)
Result: 1
