The EDATE function can be used to calculate a due date of a project or investment that fall on the same day of the month as the date it was issued.
The syntax for the EDATE function is:
= EDATE ( Start_date , Months )
Start_date - the start date of the project or time period in question.
Months- the number of months before or after the Start_date.
Example using the EDATE Function
Note: For help with this example, see the image above.
- Enter the following data into the appropriate cell:
D1 - Start Date:
D2 - Months:
E1 - 7/6/2009
E2 - 7
Note: If the date in cell E1 does not appear correct, check to see that the cell is formatted for dates.
- Click on cell E3 - the location where the results will be displayed.
- Click on the Formulas tab.
- Choose Date and Time functions > EDATE from the ribbon to bring up the
function's dialog box.
- Click on the Start_date line in the dialog box.
- Click on cell E1 in the spreadsheet to enter that cell reference into the dialog box as the Start_date argument.
- Click on the Months line in the dialog box.
- Click on cell E2 in the spreadsheet to enter that cell reference into the dialog box as the Months argument.
- Click OK in the dialog box.
- The end date - 2/6/2010 appears in cell E3 which is 7 months after the start date.
- When you click on cell E3 the complete function = EDATE ( E1 , E2 ) appears in the formula bar above the worksheet.
Note: The EDATE function can also be used to find a date in the past - such as the day work began on a project. To do so enter a negative number for the Months argument and use the project's end date for the start_date argument.
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