The Yield function is helpful for tracking interest income on bonds. Whereas IRR simply calculates interest rate gains, Yield is best suited for calculating bond yield over a set period of maturity.

Microsoft Excel 2007 allows you to plot yield curves through the chart function in the program.

The IRR function in Excel can be used in the case of bonds. However, the rate function can be used for computing the IRR on the coupon date of a bond.