MSK Institute • Shikohabad
Loading Page Content...
Preparing courses, live labs, and learning resources.सामग्री लोड हो रही है, कृपया प्रतीक्षा करें...
Connecting serverPlease wait...
💻 Practical Labs🚀 Free Demo📜 Verified Certificates
Date & Time Functions (TODAY, NOW, DATEDIF, NETWORKDAYS)0%
Date & Time Functions (TODAY, NOW, DATEDIF, NETWORKDAYS)
Beginner12 min read•Updated: Jul 11, 2026
Date & Time Functions (TODAY, NOW, DATEDIF, NETWORKDAYS)
In financial models, project schedules, and HR analytics, time calculation is critical. Excel stores dates as serial integers (where Day 1 is January 1, 1900) and times as decimal fractions. Understanding specialized date functions enables you to calculate employee tenure, project durations, and business day milestones effortlessly.
1. Dynamic Clocks: TODAY() and NOW()
- '=TODAY()': Returns the current system calendar date (e.g., '15/09/2026'). Takes no arguments. Updates automatically every time the workbook calculates.
- '=NOW()': Returns both current system date and exact time (e.g., '15/09/2026 14:32').
- Freezing Date Stamp Shortcut: If you want a permanent non-updating timestamp, press Ctrl + ; for today's date, or Ctrl + Shift + ; for current time.
2. Calculating Durations with DATEDIF
DATEDIF is one of Excel's most useful functions for calculating age, tenure, and elapsed time:
Syntax:
=DATEDIF(start_date, end_date, unit)
Unit Interval Codes:
| Unit Code | Meaning | Calculation Output |
|---|---|---|
| "Y" | Complete Years | Total full years between dates (ideal for employee age / tenure). |
| "M" | Complete Months | Total elapsed months. |
| "D" | Days | Total elapsed calendar days. |
| "YM" | Months Excluding Years | Remaining months after subtracting complete years (e.g., 5 years, 3 months). |
| "MD" | Days Excluding Months | Remaining days after subtracting complete months. |
Practical Age/Tenure Formula:
=DATEDIF(B2, TODAY(), "Y") & " Years, " & DATEDIF(B2, TODAY(), "YM") & " Months"
(Displays formatted string: "6 Years, 4 Months")
Click to Zoom3. Working with Business Days: NETWORKDAYS & WORKDAY
Calendar days include weekends and holidays, which distorts project deadlines. Excel provides dedicated business-day engines:
A. NETWORKDAYS: Calculating Net Working Days
Calculates total workdays between two dates, automatically excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and specified company holidays:
=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays])
Example: '=NETWORKDAYS(A2, B2, $H$2:$H$10)' calculates actual working days between start and finish dates, omitting the holiday dates listed in 'H2:H10'.
B. WORKDAY: Projecting Completion Deadlines
Adds N working days to a start date:
=WORKDAY(start_date, days, [holidays])
Example: If a task starts on Friday and requires 3 working days: '=WORKDAY("2026-10-02", 3)' returns Wednesday '2026-10-07' (skipping Saturday and Sunday).
Interactive Quiz
Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1
Which function returns the current system date without timestamps and updates dynamically whenever the sheet recalculates?
Question 2
What keyboard shortcut inserts a permanent, static timestamp of today's date that will never change?
Question 3
What does the formula '=DATEDIF("2020-01-01", "2025-01-01", "Y")' return?
Question 4
Which function calculates the total number of working days between two dates, automatically omitting Saturdays and Sundays?
Question 5
In DATEDIF, which unit code calculates the remaining months between two dates as if they were in the same year (ignoring full years)?
Next Lesson
Logical Functions (IF, AND, OR, NOT)
Continue learning with hands-on practice, examples, and exercises in the upcoming topic.
Related Lessons
| Previous Lesson | Next Lesson |
|---|---|
| Text Functions (LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM, LEN) | Logical Functions (IF, AND, OR, NOT) |
Practice Quiz
Test your understanding of this lesson with 5 questions. Each question has one correct answer.