Home Courses Microsoft Excel Day 25: Date and Time Functions
WEEK 4 DAY 25 OF 30 60 MINUTES WORKBOOKS INCLUDED

Day 25: Date and Time Functions

Master calendar arithmetic: learn TODAY(), NOW(), DATE(), YEAR(), MONTH(), and =DATEDIF() for age and tenure.

Easy-Learn Framework

Mastering Day 25: What, Why & How

Memory Rule Included
Day 25: Date and Time Functions Visual Diagram
? WHAT Is It?

Calendar formulas that compute dates and time intervals: =TODAY() returns the current date, =NOW() returns current date and time, and =DATEDIF() calculates exact age or elapsed days between dates.

! WHY Does It Matter?

Tracking overdue invoices, calculating employee service tenure, computing loan aging, and tracking project countdowns dynamically without updating files daily.

⚙ HOW Does It Work?
Step 1 Dynamic current date: =TODAY() updates automatically every time you open the sheet (needs empty parentheses).
Step 2 Elapsed Days: Simple subtraction =TODAY() - Due_Date gives the exact number of days overdue.
Step 3 Years of Service / Age: =DATEDIF(Start_Date, TODAY(), 'Y') returns completed full years.
Memory Hook & Golden Rule (Remember This Forever):

"Excel stores dates as numbers (Day 1 was Jan 1, 1900)! Subtract dates to find elapsed days; use =TODAY() for living, dynamic deadlines."

Learning Objectives

What You Will Master Today

  • How Excel handles dates: Dates are serial integers starting from January 1, 1900
  • =TODAY() returns the dynamic current date; =NOW() returns current date and time
  • =YEAR(date), =MONTH(date), =DAY(date) to extract component calendar integers
  • Calculating days between dates: '=EndDate - StartDate'
  • =DATEDIF(StartDate, EndDate, "Y") to calculate exact completed age in years or tenure
Important Keyboard Shortcuts:
Ctrl + ; (Insert Today's Date)Ctrl + Shift + ; (Insert Current Time)=TODAY()=NOW()=DATEDIF(start, end, "Y")
Guided Tutorial

Step-by-Step Practical Walkthrough

Step 1

Type '=TODAY()' in a cell to display today's dynamic system date.

Step 2

To calculate service tenure in years, write '=DATEDIF(JoiningDate, TODAY(), "Y")'.

Step 3

To calculate employee age in months, write '=DATEDIF(DOB, TODAY(), "M")'.

Step 4

Press Ctrl + ; to insert a static snapshot of today's date that will not change tomorrow.

Solved Classroom Example

Haldwani Corporate HR - Employee Gratuity & Service Tenure Calculator

Pre-filled Data & Answers

Study the completed reference worksheet below. Every column illustrates the standard formatting, formula structure, and alignment applied by professional office operators.

Emp IDEmployee NameJoining DateToday's Date (=TODAY())Completed Years (=DATEDIF)Gratuity Eligible? (>=5 Yrs)
EMP-101Rahul Joshi2018-04-152026-10-048Eligible for Gratuity
EMP-102Pooja Bisht2022-07-012026-10-044Not Eligible (Need 5 Yrs)
EMP-103Deepak Rawat2015-11-202026-10-0410Eligible for Gratuity
EMP-104Sneha Arya2024-01-102026-10-042Not Eligible (Need 5 Yrs)
EMP-105Amit Negi2019-09-052026-10-047Eligible for Gratuity
Download Solved Sample Sheet Includes complete working formula cells, proper currency symbols, and clean borders.
Download Solved Sheet (.xlsx)
Student Assignment

Library Book Issue & Overdue Fine Management System

Your Turn to Practice
Exercise Tasks Checklist:
  • Task 1: In Column D, calculate Due Date by adding 14 days to Issue Date: '=C5+14'.
  • Task 2: In Column F, calculate Overdue Days using '=MAX(0, E5-D5)'.
  • Task 3: In Column G, calculate Fine Payable by multiplying Overdue Days by ₹5 per day: '=F5*5'.
  • Task 4: Format all date columns as DD-MM-YYYY and fine column as Currency ₹.

Exercise Data Template Preview: Download the .xlsx file below and execute each task independently.

Book IDStudent NameIssue DateReturn Due Date (+14 Days)Actual Return DateOverdue DaysFine Payable (₹5/Day)
BK-501Aman Joshi2026-09-012026-09-20
BK-502Bhumika Rawat2026-09-052026-09-15
BK-503Chandan Negi2026-09-102026-10-02
BK-504Deepika Arya2026-09-152026-09-25
Download Practice Exercise Sheet Pre-structured practice workbook with raw datasets ready for hands-on classroom lab solving.
Download Practice Sheet (.xlsx)
Mentor Pro Tip from Haldwani Classroom Lab:

=DATEDIF is an undocumented secret function in Excel! It won't show in autocomplete tooltips, but it works reliably: "Y" for years, "M" for months, "D" for days.

Day 24: Text Functions — Part ... All 30 Topics Day 26: Creating Charts in Exc...

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