ROUNDUP Function (LibreOffice Calc)
The ROUNDUP function in LibreOffice Calc rounds a number up and away from zero to a specified number of decimal places. Learn syntax, examples, common errors, and best practices.
Compatibility
▾| Excel | ✔ |
| Gnumeric | ✔ |
| Google_sheets | ✔ |
| Libreoffice | ✔ |
| Numbers | ✔ |
| Onlyoffice | ✔ |
| Openoffice | ✔ |
| Wps | ✔ |
| Zoho | ✔ |
What the ROUNDUP Function Does ▾
- Rounds numbers away from zero
- Supports rounding to whole numbers, decimals, or large place values
- Works with positive and negative numbers
- Useful for financial calculations, capacity planning, and conservative estimates
- Works with cell references, formulas, and expressions
It is designed to be predictable, directional, and universally compatible.
Syntax ▾
ROUNDUP(number; digits)
Arguments
-
number:
The numeric value to round. -
digits:
The number of decimal places to keep.- Positive → round up to decimal places
- Zero → round up to nearest integer
- Negative → round up to tens, hundreds, etc.
Basic Examples ▾
Round up to 2 decimal places
=ROUNDUP(12.341; 2)
Returns 12.35.
Round up to the nearest whole number
=ROUNDUP(5.1; 0)
Returns 6.
Round up a negative number (away from zero)
=ROUNDUP(-3.1; 0)
Returns -4.
ROUNDUP with a cell reference
=ROUNDUP(A1; 1)
Rounds A1 up to one decimal place.
Advanced Examples ▾
Round up to tens (negative digits)
=ROUNDUP(123.45; -1)
Returns 130.
Round up to hundreds
=ROUNDUP(987.65; -2)
Returns 1000.
ROUNDUP vs ROUNDDOWN vs ROUND
=ROUNDUP(5.2; 0)
Returns 6.
=ROUNDDOWN(5.2; 0)
Returns 5.
=ROUND(5.2; 0)
Returns 5.
ROUNDUP for financial modeling
=ROUNDUP(A1 * 1.13; 2)
Useful for conservative tax or interest calculations.
ROUNDUP for capacity planning
=ROUNDUP(A1 / 12; 0)
Rounds up to the next whole unit (e.g., boxes, pallets, batches).
ROUNDUP with division
=ROUNDUP(A1 / B1; 3)
Rounds the result of the division away from zero.
Common Errors and Fixes ▾
ROUNDUP returns 0 unexpectedly
Possible causes:
- digits is too large
- number is extremely small
- number is stored as text
Fix:
Convert text to numbers using:
Data → Text to Columns → OK
ROUNDUP returns unexpected results with negative numbers
Cause:
- Rounding always moves away from zero, not up.
Example:
ROUNDUP(-5.1; 0) → -6
Err:502 — Invalid argument
Occurs when:
- digits is non‑numeric
- number is non‑numeric text
- a formula returns an error passed into ROUNDUP
Fix:
Wrap the expression with IFERROR:
IFERROR(ROUNDUP(A1; 2); 0)
Best Practices ▾
- Use ROUNDUP when you need conservative or capacity‑based rounding
- Use ROUNDDOWN when rounding should move toward zero
- Use ROUND for standard rounding rules
- Use ROUNDUP with negative digits for coarse rounding upward
- Avoid rounding too early in multi‑step calculations
Related Patterns and Alternatives ▾
- Use ROUNDDOWN to round toward zero
- Use ROUND for standard rounding
- Use TRUNC to remove decimals without rounding
- Use FLOOR and CEILING for significance‑based rounding
- Use INT for rounding down toward negative infinity
By mastering ROUNDUP and its combinations with other math functions, you can build precise, predictable numeric models in LibreOffice Calc that maintain consistent directional behavior.