Appliance Repair: Warranty Status Check

Excel Formulas › Appliance Repair

All versions

Nothing sours a service call like discovering on the doorstep that a repair you quoted as free is actually billable. One comparison in the dispatch sheet settles it before anyone drives anywhere.

Quick formula: Age against term, in months:

=IF(B2>C2,"Out of warranty","Covered")

A unit 14 months old with a 12-month parts warranty is out of warranty — the customer pays.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

The example

Three dispatch tickets with the unit's age and the manufacturer's term, both in months.

	A	B	C	D
1	Ticket	Age (months)	Term (months)	Status
2	Washer 4412	14	12	Out of warranty
3	Fridge 8801	9	12	Covered
4	Range 2290	44	60	Covered

The formula

A single comparison inside IF:

=IF(B2>C2,"Out of warranty","Covered") // older than the term means the customer pays

How it works

Keeping both values in months is what makes this trivial:

B2 is the unit's age in months, taken from the install or purchase date.
C2 is the warranty term for that manufacturer and part — often 12 months on labor and longer on sealed components.
B2>C2 is TRUE once the unit has outlived its term.
IF(...) turns that TRUE or FALSE into words the dispatcher can read at a glance.

Note the boundary: exactly 12 months against a 12-month term returns Covered, because the test is strictly greater than. If your policy expires on the anniversary, use >= instead.

Try it: interactive demo

Interactive

Enter the unit age and the warranty term, both in months.

Unit age (months)

Warranty term (months)

Variations

Separate parts and labor terms

Most manufacturers cover parts longer than labor; test both.

=IF(B2>D2,"Billable",IF(B2>C2,"Parts only","Fully covered"))

Months remaining

Useful for an extended-warranty upsell at the end of the call.

=MAX(0,C2-B2)

Pitfalls & errors

Warranty usually runs from the install or delivery date, not the manufacture date. A unit that sat in a warehouse for six months is younger than its serial number suggests.

Keep the term in a column rather than the formula. Terms differ by brand, by component, and by whether an extended plan was sold.

Practice workbook

📊

Download the free Appliance Repair: Warranty Status Check practice workbook

Edit the yellow age and term cells; the status recalculates.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do this from dates instead of months?

Yes — DATEDIF(install,today,"m") gives the age in months and drops straight into the same comparison. Months keep the example readable and stop time-zone quirks from moving the answer.

What about extended warranties?

Add the extension length to the base term in a helper column, then compare against that. The IF is unchanged.

Stop fighting formulas. Learn them in a day.

This recipe is one of hundreds of real-world formulas we teach. Our Excel Formulas & Functions class covers lookups, logic, text, and dynamic arrays hands-on — live in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, Denver, or online.

See the Formulas & Functions Class

Function references: IF