Excel Tutorial – EDATE

The EDATE function in Microsoft Excel is a built-in function that allows you to calculate the date that is a certain number of months before or after a given start date. It takes two arguments: the start date and the number of months to add or subtract from the start date. The function returns the resulting date as a serial number that can be formatted as a date.

To use the EDATE function in Excel, follow these steps:

1. Open a new or existing worksheet in Excel.
2. Select the cell where you want to display the result of the EDATE function.
3. Type the following formula in the cell: =EDATE(start_date, months)
4. Replace “start_date” with the cell reference or the start date, and “months” with the number of months to add or subtract from the start date. To add months to the start date, use a positive number. To subtract months from the start date, use a negative number.
5. Press Enter to calculate the result of the EDATE function.

For example, let’s say you have a list of start dates in column A, and you want to calculate the date that is 6 months after each start date and display the result in column B. You can use the EDATE function as follows:

1. In cell B1, type the formula =EDATE(A1, 6)
2. Press Enter to calculate the result.
3. Select cell B1, and then drag the fill handle (the small square in the bottom-right corner of the cell) down to fill the formula in the remaining cells of column B.

This will calculate the date that is 6 months after each start date in column A and display the result in column B.

Note: The EDATE function returns the resulting date as a serial number, which can be formatted as a date using the DATEVALUE function or the Format Cells dialog. For example, you can use the formula =DATEVALUE(EDATE(A1, 6)) to convert the serial number to a date, or you can select the cell and use the Format Cells dialog to format the cell as a date.