Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Displaying a Number as Years and Months.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 31, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Robert has a formula that determines the payback period for certain investments. For instance, with $20,000 investment in energy-savings equipment and an annual energy savings of $3000, the simplistic payback period to recoup the investment is 6.6667 years. Robert wonders how he can make this payback period (6.6667) show as years and months instead of as a decimal number.
This can be done by simply multiplying the portion of the answer at the right of the decimal point by 12, which results in a number of months. Here is one way to get the desired result, assuming that the payback result is in cell A1:
=INT(A1) & " years / " & INT((A1-INT(A1))*12) & " months"
With the value 6.6667 in cell A1, the formula would return "6 years / 8 months".
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6960) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Displaying a Number as Years and Months.
Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!
Want to push a date to some pre-defined day of the month? Here's some ways to force the issue.
Discover MoreYou can use a couple of different worksheet functions to enter today's date in a cell. What if you want to calculate ...
Discover MoreNeed to know what day of the year a certain date is? You can figure it out easily using the formulas in this tip.
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments