How to use the MROUND function

What is the MROUND function?

The MROUND function calculates a number rounded to a given multiple.

1. Introduction

What is a multiple?

In mathematics a multiple is a number that can be divided evenly by another number with no remainder. For a number to be a multiple it must be divisible by x with 0 remainder.

For a number x, multiples of x are numbers like 2x, 3x, 4x and so on. For example, 20 is a multiple of 4 since 20/ 4 = 5 with no remainder.

How to round numbers?

Rounding is a method to simplify a number by reducing its digits while keeping its approximate value close to the original value.

There are a few common ways to round:

• Round to a set number of decimal places, rounding 2.13579 to 2 decimal places gives 2.14.
• Round up or down to the nearest integer, rounding up 2.3 gives 3. Rounding down 2.3 gives 2.
• Round to a set increment, rounding to the nearest 10 rounds 17 to 20.
• Round to significant figures, rounding 2.333 to 3 significant figures gives 2.33.

When rounding, look at the first digit after where you want to round. If it's 5 or more, round up. If less than 5, round down. Rounding makes numbers cleaner and easier to work with in many everyday situations, however, they may also cause rounding errors like rounded values can compound errors. Rounding measurements and constants may reduces precision. It is better to round numbers after performing calculations than before.

What is a decimal place?

A decimal place refers to each position held by a digit in a number. The first decimal place is the tenths place (1/10), the second is the hundreds place (1/100) and so on.

What is an integer?

An integer is a whole number that can be positive, negative, or zero, but not a fraction or decimal.

What is a "a set increment"?

A "set increment" is a fixed regular number interval that is used as the rounding value or unit.

• Rounding to the nearest 10 uses a set increment of 10. Valid rounded values are ..., -20, -10, 0, 10, 20, 30, ...
• Rounding to the nearest 0.5 uses a set increment of 0.5. Valid values are ..., 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, ...

What other Excel functions round numbers?

ROUND	Rounds a number to a specified number of digits
ROUNDUP	Rounds a number up, away from zero
ROUNDDOWN	Rounds a number down, towards zero
MROUND	Rounds a number to the nearest multiple of a specified value
CEILING	Rounds a number up to its nearest multiple.
ODD	Returns number rounded up to the nearest odd integer.
EVEN	Rounds a number up to the nearest even whole number.
FIXED	Rounds a number to the specified number of decimals, lets you ignore comma separators.

2. Syntax

MROUND(number, multiple)

number	Required. The value to round.
multiple	Required. The multiple you want to use.

Warning, the rounding direction is undefined for midpoint numbers.

3. Example

This example demonstrates how the MROUND function works, it takes two arguments number and multiple and returns the number rounded to the given multiple.

The first number is 20 and the multiple is 3. 3*6 = 18 and 3*7 = 21. 21 is closer to 20 so the MROUND function returns 21.

Formula in cell D3:

The second number is -20 and the multiple is -7. -7*3 = -21 and -7*2 equals -14. -21 is closer to -20 than -14.

The third number in cell B5 is 30 and the multiple specified in cell C5 is 4. 4*7=28 and 4*8=32. The MROUND function rounds 30 up to 32.

The fourth number is 16 and the multiple is 0.6. 26*0.6 = 15.6 and 27 * 0.6 = 16.2 16 is closer to 16.2 than 15.6. The MROUND function rounds 16 to 16.2

The fifth number is -14 and the multiple is -0.9. 15*-0.9 = -13.5 and 16*-0.9 = -14.4. The MROUND function rounds -14 to -14.4

4. How to round a date to the nearest given weekday?

The formula in cell C6 rounds the date in cell B6 to the nearest weekday based on the value in cell C2.

Cell C3 calculates the relative position of the weekday in cell C2 if the week begins on a Sunday.

Formula in cell C3:

If you want one bigger formula you can combine them and use the following formula instead:

Excel dates are actually numbers formatted as dates, for example 1/1/1900 is 1, 2 represents 1/2/1900 etc. This allows us to"round" dates to the nearest specified weekday.

• Cell B6 contains Tuesday 1/25/2022 which represents integer 44586. The formula in cell C6 finds the closest Tuesday based on the date given in B6 and the specified weekday in cell C2. 1/25/2022 is a Tuesday so it won't be rounded to its nearest Tuesday when infact that date is already a Tuesday.
• Cell B7 contains Sunday 5/7/2023 which represents 45053. The nearest Tuesdays are Tuesday May 9th, 2023 and Tuesday, May the 2nd, 2023. The MROUND function rounds Sunday 5/7/2023 to Tuesday May 9th, which is the closest date.

4.1 Explaining formula in cell C3

Step 1 - Find the relative position of weekday

The MATCH function returns a number representing the relative position of a given value in an array or cell range.

MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])

MATCH($C$2,{"Sunday";"Monday";"Tuesday";"Wednesday";"Thursday";"Friday";"Saturday"},0)

becomes

MATCH("Tuesday", {"Sunday"; "Monday"; "Tuesday"; "Wednesday"; "Thursday"; "Friday"; "Saturday"}, 0)

and returns 3. Tuesday is the thrid value in the array.

Step 2 - Calculate Excel date

7-MATCH($C$2,{"Sunday";"Monday";"Tuesday";"Wednesday";"Thursday";"Friday";"Saturday"},0)+B6

becomes

7-3+B6

becomes

7-3+44586 equals 44590

Step 3 - Round date

The MROUND function rounds a number to a given multiple.

MROUND(number, multiple)

MROUND(7-MATCH($C$2,{"Sunday";"Monday";"Tuesday";"Wednesday";"Thursday";"Friday";"Saturday"},0)+B6,7)

becomes

MROUND(44590,7)

and returns 44590.

Step 4 - Calculate date of nearest weekday

MROUND(7-MATCH($C$2,{"Sunday";"Monday";"Tuesday";"Wednesday";"Thursday";"Friday";"Saturday"},0)+B6,7)-(7-MATCH($C$2,{"Sunday";"Monday";"Tuesday";"Wednesday";"Thursday";"Friday";"Saturday"},0))

becomes

44590 - (7-MATCH($C$2,{"Sunday";"Monday";"Tuesday";"Wednesday";"Thursday";"Friday";"Saturday"},0))

becomes

44590-(7-3) equals 44586.

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5. How to round a date to the nearest upcoming weekday?

The following formula finds the closest given weekday in the future. For example, "Monday" is specified in cell C2 which represents weekday number 2 if the week starts on a Sunday. The date given in cell B6 is Tuesday 1/25/2022, the next upcoming Monday is 1/31/2022.

Formula in cell C6:

The difference between this formula and the formula in section 4 above is that this fomrula always finds the closest given weekday in the future while the formula in section 4 above finds the closest weekday. It may sometimes be a date in the future but it can also be a date in the past, it depends on which date is closest.

5.1 Explaining formula in cell C6

Step 1 - Check if weekday is less than or equal to value in C3

The WEEKDAY function returns a number representing the weekday.

WEEKDAY(serial_number,[return_type])

WEEKDAY(B6, 1)<=$C$3

becomes

WEEKDAY(44586, 1)<=$C$3

becomes

3<=$C$3

becomes

3<=2

and returns FALSE.

Step 2 - Evaluate IF function

The IF function returns one value if the logical test is TRUE and another value if the logical test is FALSE.

IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])

IF(WEEKDAY(B6, 1)<=$C$3, $C$3-WEEKDAY(B6, 1)+B6, $C$3-WEEKDAY(B6, 1)+B6+7)

becomes

IF(FALSE, $C$3-WEEKDAY(B6, 1)+B6, $C$3-WEEKDAY(B6, 1)+B6+7)

and returns

$C$3-WEEKDAY(B6, 1)+B6+7

Step 3 - Calculate nearest upcoming weekday

$C$3-WEEKDAY(B6, 1)+B6+7

becomes

2-3+B6+7

becomes

2-3+44586+7

and returns 44592.

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6. How to round time to the nearest hour?

This example demonstrates a formula that allows you to round a time value in Excel to its nearest hour.

Formula in cell C3:

Excel first evaluates the value in cell B3, which is 12:01:00 AM (or 0.000694444444444444 in decimal time format). The function then rounds this value to the nearest multiple of 1/24, which is 1 hour. Since 12:01:00 AM is closer to 12:00:00 AM than to 1:00:00 AM, the MROUND function rounds it down to 12:00:00 AM.

6.1 Explaining formula in cell C3

Step 1 - Excel time

Excel time is between 0 (zero) and 1. 24 hours is equal to 1.

1/24

An hour is equal to 1/24.

Step 2 - Round time to the nearest hour

MROUND(B3,1/24)

becomes

MROUND(0.000694444, 1/24)

becomes

MROUND(0.000694444, 0.041666667)

and returns 0 (zero) which is 12:00 AM.

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7. How to round time to the nearest quarter of an hour?

This example demonstrates a formula that allows you to round a time value in Excel to its nearest quarter of an hour.

Formula in cell C3:

Excel first evaluates the value in cell B3, which is 12:01:00 AM (or 0.000694444444444444 in decimal time format). The function then rounds this value to the nearest multiple of 1/96, which is 15 minutes. Since 12:01:00 AM is closer to 12:00:00 AM than to 12:15:00 AM, the MROUND function rounds it down to 12:00:00 AM.

7.1 Explaining formula in cell C3

Step 1 - Excel time

Excel time is between 0 (zero) and 1. 24 hours is equal to 1.

An hour is equal to 1/24. A quarter is 1/4 of an hour.

(1/24)*(1/4)

Step 2 - Round time to the nearest hour

MROUND(B3, (1/24)*(1/4))

becomes

MROUND(0.000694444, (1/24)*(1/4))

becomes

MROUND(0.000694444, 0.0104166666666667)

and returns 0 (zero) which is 12:00 AM.

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8. Function not working

The MROUND function returns

• #VALUE! error if you use a non-numeric input value.
• #NAME? error if you misspell the function name.
• propagates errors, meaning that if the input contains an error (e.g., #VALUE!, #REF!), the function will return the same error.

8.1 Troubleshooting the error value

When you encounter an error value in a cell a warning symbol appears, displayed in the image above. Press with mouse on it to see a pop-up menu that lets you get more information about the error.

1. The first line describes the error if you press with left mouse button on it.
2. The second line opens a pane that explains the error in greater detail.
3. The third line takes you to the "Evaluate Formula" tool, a dialog box appears allowing you to examine the formula in greater detail.
4. This line lets you ignore the error value meaning the warning icon disappears, however, the error is still in the cell.
5. The fifth line lets you edit the formula in the Formula bar.
6. The sixth line opens the Excel settings so you can adjust the Error Checking Options.

Here are a few of the most common Excel errors you may encounter.

#NULL error - This error occurs most often if you by mistake use a space character in a formula where it shouldn't be. Excel interprets a space character as an intersection operator. If the ranges don't intersect an #NULL error is returned. The #NULL! error occurs when a formula attempts to calculate the intersection of two ranges that do not actually intersect. This can happen when the wrong range operator is used in the formula, or when the intersection operator (represented by a space character) is used between two ranges that do not overlap. To fix this error double check that the ranges referenced in the formula that use the intersection operator actually have cells in common.

#SPILL error - The #SPILL! error occurs only in version Excel 365 and is caused by a dynamic array being to large, meaning there are cells below and/or to the right that are not empty. This prevents the dynamic array formula expanding into new empty cells.

#DIV/0 error - This error happens if you try to divide a number by 0 (zero) or a value that equates to zero which is not possible mathematically.

#VALUE error - The #VALUE error occurs when a formula has a value that is of the wrong data type. Such as text where a number is expected or when dates are evaluated as text.

#REF error - The #REF error happens when a cell reference is invalid. This can happen if a cell is deleted that is referenced by a formula.

#NAME error - The #NAME error happens if you misspelled a function or a named range.

#NUM error - The #NUM error shows up when you try to use invalid numeric values in formulas, like square root of a negative number.

#N/A error - The #N/A error happens when a value is not available for a formula or found in a given cell range, for example in the VLOOKUP or MATCH functions.

#GETTING_DATA error - The #GETTING_DATA error shows while external sources are loading, this can indicate a delay in fetching the data or that the external source is unavailable right now.

8.2 The formula returns an unexpected value

To understand why a formula returns an unexpected value we need to examine the calculations steps in detail. Luckily, Excel has a tool that is really handy in these situations. Here is how to troubleshoot a formula:

1. Select the cell containing the formula you want to examine in detail.
2. Go to tab “Formulas” on the ribbon.
3. Press with left mouse button on "Evaluate Formula" button. A dialog box appears.
   The formula appears in a white field inside the dialog box. Underlined expressions are calculations being processed in the next step. The italicized expression is the most recent result. The buttons at the bottom of the dialog box allows you to evaluate the formula in smaller calculations which you control.
4. Press with left mouse button on the "Evaluate" button located at the bottom of the dialog box to process the underlined expression.
5. Repeat pressing the "Evaluate" button until you have seen all calculations step by step. This allows you to examine the formula in greater detail and hopefully find the culprit.
6. Press "Close" button to dismiss the dialog box.

There is also another way to debug formulas using the function key F9. F9 is especially useful if you have a feeling that a specific part of the formula is the issue, this makes it faster than the "Evaluate Formula" tool since you don't need to go through all calculations to find the issue.

1. Enter Edit mode: Double-press with left mouse button on the cell or press F2 to enter Edit mode for the formula.
2. Select part of the formula: Highlight the specific part of the formula you want to evaluate. You can select and evaluate any part of the formula that could work as a standalone formula.
3. Press F9: This will calculate and display the result of just that selected portion.
4. Evaluate step-by-step: You can select and evaluate different parts of the formula to see intermediate results.
5. Check for errors: This allows you to pinpoint which part of a complex formula may be causing an error.

The image above shows cell reference C3 converted to hard-coded value using the F9 key. The MROUND function requires numerical values which is not the case in this example. We have found what is wrong with the formula.

Tips!

• View actual values: Selecting a cell reference and pressing F9 will show the actual values in those cells.
• Exit safely: Press Esc to exit Edit mode without changing the formula. Don't press Enter, as that would replace the formula part with the calculated value.
• Full recalculation: Pressing F9 outside of Edit mode will recalculate all formulas in the workbook.

Remember to be careful not to accidentally overwrite parts of your formula when using F9. Always exit with Esc rather than Enter to preserve the original formula. However, if you make a mistake overwriting the formula it is not the end of the world. You can “undo” the action by pressing keyboard shortcut keys CTRL + z or pressing the “Undo” button

8.3 Other errors

Floating-point arithmetic may give inaccurate results in Excel - Article

Floating-point errors are usually very small, often beyond the 15th decimal place, and in most cases don't affect calculations significantly.

Useful links

MROUND Function - Microsoft

Functions in 'Math and trigonometry' category

The MROUND function function is one of 62 functions in the 'Math and trigonometry' category.

Excel function categories

Excel categories

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