# Dates and deadlines

Fixed dates, reproducible results. No TODAY dependency.

FormulaSmith | 2026-10-08 | EN

English Excel: comma arguments. Regional settings may use another separator.

The formulas contain their own example inputs. Paste one into an empty cell. Text in quotes is literal data.

## Build an unambiguous date

```excel
=DATE(2026,10,8)
```

RESULT: 2026-10-08 (date format)

Year, month, day. Avoid locale-dependent date strings.

## Last day of this month

```excel
=EOMONTH(DATE(2026,10,8),0)
```

RESULT: 2026-10-31

0 means the same month; 1 means the following month.

## Move forward one month

```excel
=EDATE(DATE(2026,1,31),1)
```

RESULT: 2026-02-28

A month is not 30 days. The shorter month ends on day 28 here.

## Elapsed calendar days

```excel
=DATE(2026,10,20)-DATE(2026,10,8)
```

RESULT: 12 (number format)

End minus start. For an inclusive count of calendar dates, add 1.

## Monday to Friday

```excel
=NETWORKDAYS(DATE(2026,10,5),DATE(2026,10,9))
```

RESULT: 5

Saturday and Sunday are excluded. No holidays are supplied.

## Exclude one date

```excel
=NETWORKDAYS(DATE(2026,10,5),DATE(2026,10,9),DATE(2026,10,7))
```

RESULT: 4

The third argument excludes October 7. A holiday range also works.

## BEFORE YOU USE IT

Format date results as dates; Excel stores date serial numbers. NETWORKDAYS counts both endpoints when they are workdays. The excluded date below is an example, not a public-holiday calendar.

## MICROSOFT REFERENCES

- [EOMONTH](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/functions/eomonth-function) (2026-10-08)
- [EDATE](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/functions/edate-function) (2026-10-08)
- [NETWORKDAYS](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/functions/networkdays-function) (2026-10-08)

https://formulasmith.com/en/cheat-sheets/