Best Financial Calculators

A financial calculator could be your best ally if you're studying or working in a business environment, whether it be in real estate, accountancy or bookkeeping, banking, trading, audit and many other sectors.

They come in many varieties, from the basic to the advanced. This review features some of the best financial calculators on the market.

Financial calculators are electronic calculators specifically designed for use in calculations related to business. The first hand-held financial calculator was the HP 80, released in 1973 by Hewlett Packard (HP) and according to the manual, "takes the drudgery out of complex financial and business calculations".

Financial calculators come in many varieties. Here are some things to consider before buying a financial calculator:

• Memory capacity

How much information do you think you will be dealing with? Cash-flows can normally be stored in your calculator. Check how many can be stored. As an example, one of the very best financial calculators, the HP 12c Platinum, can store up to 80 cash-flows.

• Processing speed

Before you buy, check other clients' opinions on this - in a fast-paced business world, a slow calculator would be the last thing you need!

• Financial functions

Think carefully about what kinds of financial calculations you will be doing and check which calculators fulfil these needs. Some of the most common functions offered are related to depreciation, amortization, bonds and interest calculations.

• What sector do you work in?

This is related to the previous item - some calculators include specific functions for specific industries. For example, the HP 12c Platinum has a whole set of real estate functions and others for banking professionals.

• Robustness

Check online reviews to check how robust models are - your new calculator should last years, even if you should happen to drop it a couple of times!

• Design

If you are in a client-facing position, you might want to consider what sort of image your calculator would give in a meeting. Some of the most powerful financial calculators aren't exactly sophisticated-looking, whereas other manufacturers have really taken this factor into consideration and have produced very sleek, stylish models - again, the HP 12c Platinum really does look smart.