Spreadsheet checks before running Closing Cost in New York

What the checker catches

Run this scenario in DocketMath using the Closing Cost calculator.

Before you run a Closing Cost calculation in New York, a spreadsheet “pre-flight” step helps you avoid two common failure modes: (1) wrong numbers caused by formatting or unit drift, and (2) incorrect eligibility/timing assumptions caused by jurisdiction-aware rules not being applied correctly.

DocketMath’s Closing Cost calculator is where the arithmetic happens. The spreadsheet checker is the earlier guardrail—it verifies that the spreadsheet inputs and logic are trustworthy before any cost calculations rely on them.

For US-NY workflows, the checker focuses on these areas:

• Missing or inconsistent dates

  • Discrepancies between key dates you track in your sheet (for example: loan date vs. closing date vs. filing date, as your workflow defines them)
  • Blank date cells or date-like values stored as text (e.g., 01/02/2025 entered as text instead of a real date)
  • Non-monotonic sequences, where your sheet’s date order doesn’t make sense (for example, a “closing date” earlier than an “application date”)

• **Timing logic errors (jurisdiction-aware)

  • If your workflow includes a time-window assumption (even indirectly), the checker validates that the spreadsheet is using the general/default timing rule you have set for US-NY.
  • For the jurisdiction data used here, the default/general period is 5 years, based on N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c):

    • Source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/30.10
  • Important: The provided jurisdiction data does not include a claim-type-specific sub-rule. Because of that, this checker treats 5 years as the default/general period only, not as a specialized period for a specific claim type.

• Currency and unit mismatches

  • Mixing dollars and percentages in the same input (for example, entering 2.5 where the sheet expects 2.5%)
  • Copying values from other systems where points/fees may already be converted into dollars (and the sheet then converts again)
  • Rounding settings that can materially change totals—especially if the spreadsheet rounds early in intermediate rows

• Formula integrity issues

  • Hard-coded totals in cells where the worksheet expects calculated results
  • Broken references after copy/paste (for example, column letters shift)
  • Error values like #VALUE! or #N/A inside intermediate rows (which can quietly distort final totals)

• Sanity checks for outputs

  • Negative totals that typically indicate inverted inputs (credits/debits sign conventions)
  • Totals that jump by orders of magnitude due to wrong scale (for example, 2500 interpreted as 2.5 or vice versa)

Pitfall to watch: If dates are stored as text, time-window checks (like “within 5 years”) can fail silently. Your formulas may still compute, but comparisons may not evaluate correctly—so the checker will flag date-type problems early.

When to run it

Run the checker before you use the DocketMath Closing Cost calculation step. The most reliable approach is:

1. After you import or update spreadsheet values

   • Especially after migrating from another source (portal exports, PDF-to-Excel, template updates)

2. After you set (or confirm) the jurisdiction code

   • For this workflow, ensure it’s consistently set to US-NY
   • Jurisdiction-aware timing checks depend on that flag being correct

3. Immediately before any “time-window” assumptions feed cost logic

   • If your sheet uses a limitation window anywhere that influences downstream fields, validate date comparisons and the timing rule first

4. Once per version, then again after major edits

   • You can usually skip repeats for pure fee edits, but rerun after any changes to date inputs or anything that affects eligibility/timing logic

What “the 5-year default” means in your sheet (and what it doesn’t)

If your spreadsheet includes a step like “apply XYZ only if within the statute of limitations,” the checker anchors that to the jurisdiction data provided here:

• Default/general period: 5 years
• Statute citation used in this workflow: **N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c)

  • Source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/30.10
• Claim-type-specific sub-rules: not included in the provided data, so the checker treats 5 years as the default/general period only.

Try the checker

Use DocketMath to run the closing workflow, but do it in the safer order: check first, then calculate.

Upload the spreadsheet, review the warnings, and then run the calculation once the inputs are clean: Try the checker.

Quick setup checklist (US-NY)

Inputs that most affect the checker’s findings (test one change at a time)

1. Date format test

   • Convert a date cell from text to a proper date.
   • Expected result: the checker should stop warning about date comparison issues, and time-window logic can evaluate correctly.

2. Rounding scale test

   • Adjust a fee input (for example, change 0.25 to 0.2500, or remove early rounding).
   • Expected result: the Closing Cost total may shift, and the checker should help you identify whether intermediate rounding is driving the difference.

3. Amount sign test

   • Swap a “credit” field sign if your spreadsheet convention treats credits as negative.
   • Expected result: the checker will flag negative totals or unusual magnitudes caused by inverted signs.

Primary CTA

Start here: **run Closing Cost

If you can structure your process, make it: spreadsheet checker → only run the Closing Cost calculator when pre-flight checks pass. That helps ensure a date-format issue or formula break doesn’t distort both eligibility/timing logic and final cost totals.

Gentle note: This content is practical guidance about spreadsheet quality and workflow checks—not legal advice.

Related reading

• Average closing costs in Alabama — Rule summary with authoritative citations
• Average closing costs in Alaska — Rule summary with authoritative citations
• Average closing costs in Arizona — Rule summary with authoritative citations