An investment may often involve more than one payment. In fact, many investments generate multiple cash flows over time. A concept related to the time value of money that has to do with serial payments is net present value (NPV).This calculation is a more complex version of the basic present value calculation mentioned earlier. Under a net present value calculation, the present value of each future cash inflow and outflow is figured. Then the results are added to determine whether, in the present, the project has a positive value or negative value for a company or investor.
For example, if a company was going to invest $10,000 today, receive $4,000 each of the next three years, and then have to pay an additional $1,000 to exit the investment, an investor or company would want to know if they’re losing money when the time value of money is considered.
Assuming an 8% annual interest rate, the calculation may look something like this, with the present values of money flowing out represented by negative numbers and money flowing in represented by positive numbers:
