How to use the DAYS function in Microsoft excel?

 

ABOUT FUNCTION:

DAYS function in Microsoft Excel returns the days count between two reference dates.

PURPOSE:

To get a duration or days between two dates.

OUTPUT OF THE FUNCTION:

Total duration or number of days between two dates

SYNTEX:

=DAYS(end_date, start_date)

ARGUMENTS:

●     end_date: required. The end date

●     start_date: required. The start date

NOTES:

Excel stores a date as sequential serial numbers so that it can be used for calculation. By default, Microsoft Excel considers Jan 01, 1900 as a start date and its serial number as 1. Therefore, for the date Jan 01, 1901 the serial number will be 367 because it is 366 days after Jan 01,1900.

By default, first date in Excel: Jan 01,1900

If both date arguments are numbers, DAYS will perform End date - Start date to calculate the number of days in between start date and end date.

If any arguments in the DAYS function is text value, then function will return an integer date instead of time component

If date arguments are numeric values that fall outside the range of valid dates, DAYS returns the #NUM! error value.

If date arguments are strings that cannot be analyzed as valid dates, DAYS returns the #VALUE! error value.

EXAMPLE:

Below function in E7 cell returns the number of days between two dates mentioned in C7 and D7. It will return the duration or day count between start and end date is 1242 days.

Function:

=DAYS(D7, C7)

Description:

Days function will perform calculation to count days between END DATE - START DATE.

Output:

Returns 1242 days is the days count between two dates.

 

Excel also counts the days between two dates when arguments are Date instead of reference subject to valid format recognized by Microsoft Excel.

Function:

=DAYS(“01-01-2020”, “01-01-2019”)

Description:

When you are using direct dates as an argument in function, you need to enclose these values in double quotation marks.

Output:

Returns 365 days

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