[header] How to calculate a monthly payment in excel [title] Launch microsoft excel and open a new workbook. [title] Save the workbook file with an appropriate and descriptive name. [substeps] This will help you find your work later on if you need to refer to it or make changes to the information. 
[title] Create labels in cells a1 down to a4 for the variables and result of your monthly payment calculation. [substeps] Type " balance " in cell a1, " interest rate " in cell a2 and " periods " in cell a3.