Numbers and totals
CEILING.MATH, FLOOR.MATH, and ROUNDDOWN: round to multiples and full units
Round billable minutes up to 15-minute blocks with CEILING.MATH, round stock down to whole pallet multiples with FLOOR.MATH, and count complete dozens with ROUNDDOWN.
Decimal places vs custom step multiples
ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN control decimal places (powers of 10), whereas CEILING.MATH and FLOOR.MATH round directly to a custom multiple such as 15 minutes or 20 units per pallet.
| Task | Input | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billable 15-min block | 37 mins (A2) | =CEILING.MATH(A2, 15) | 45 |
| Exact 15-min boundary | 30 mins (A3) | =CEILING.MATH(A3, 15) | 30 |
| Full 20-unit pallets units | 94 units (B2) | =FLOOR.MATH(B2, 20) | 80 |
| Complete 12-unit cartons | 53 items (C2) | =ROUNDDOWN(C2/12, 0) | 4 |
Round up to billing increments with CEILING.MATH
=CEILING.MATH(A2, 15) rounds 37 minutes up to the next multiple of 15 (45). When A3 is already an exact multiple (30), CEILING.MATH leaves it at 30 without adding an extra block.
=CEILING.MATH(A2,15)Shippable multiples (FLOOR.MATH) and complete cartons (ROUNDDOWN)
=FLOOR.MATH(B2, 20) drops 94 units down to 80—the largest multiple of 20 you can ship on full pallets. Similarly, =ROUNDDOWN(C2/12, 0) turns 53 / 12 (4.4167) into 4 complete 12-packs, contrasting with ROUNDUP (5 containers needed to hold everything).
=FLOOR.MATH(B2,20)Try the example
Use the original values or change them to test your understanding.