How to enter an investment loss without counting fees twice
A negative ROI is a valid result and should not be replaced with zero. Establish whether proceeds are gross or already net of charges, then use one consistent accounting convention.
Return on investment calculator →Allow the loss to remain visible
When final value plus income is less than total invested, both net gain and ROI are negative. Total invested must be positive to serve as the denominator. A situation with no investment cannot simply be represented as an ordinary infinite return in this calculator. The sign of the output communicates an economic loss under the inputs provided.
Reconcile a sale with an expense
Suppose original cost is 5,000, gross sale proceeds are 4,700 and an additional sale expense is 100. Under this tool’s convention of including expenses in total invested, net gain is −400, total invested is 5,100 and ROI is approximately −7.84%. Entering net proceeds of 4,600 while also entering the same 100 expense would deduct that charge twice.
State the denominator when comparing results
Comparing net proceeds of 4,600 directly with original cost of 5,000 gives −8%. That uses a different expense-denominator convention, so it should not be described as numerically identical to the tool’s result. This article explains the tool’s explicit definition. Tax cost basis, accounting profit and formal investment performance can use other definitions, which should be selected and documented according to the purpose of the analysis.
Try the calculators
- Return on investment calculator
Calculate net gain and ROI from cost, final value, income and expenses.
- Percentage change
Measure the change between two values.
- Profit margin and markup calculator
Calculate profit, margin, markup or a target selling price.