The date is very important working on different financial and other worksheets. In many cases, we need to input the first day of a month. Microsoft Excel offers an easy fix to get the first day of the month. In this tutorial, we will learn how to get the first day of the month.
Figure 1. Example of How to Get First Day of Month
Syntax
=date-DAY(date)+1
How this Formula Works
Here, the formula contains the DAY function in order to extract the first day of a month. Excel stores dates as serial numbers. The day function returns a number from 1 to 31 to represent the month’s days. Here, we subtract this number from the serial number and add 1. As a result, we get the first day of the month.
Setting up Data
The following database uses some sample dates. Column A has these dates.
Figure 2. The Sample Data Set
To get the first day of the months, we need to:
- Go to cell B2. Click on it with the mouse.
- Input the formula
=A2-DAY(A2)+1to the function box in B2. - Press Enter.
Figure 3. Applying the Formula
- Drag the formula from cells B2 to B6.
This will return the first day of the month in column B.
Notes
We can use the EOMONTH formula to find the first day of the month as well. EOMONTH returns the last day of a month from a date. Here, we use the EOMONTH function to go to the last day of the previous month. Then, we add 1 to get the first day of the current month. To perform the previous example with the EOMONTH function, we need to use the formula =EOMONTH(A2,-1)+1 in cell B2.
Figure 4. Get First Day of Month Using EOMONTH
This will also show the first day of the month in column B.
Most of the time, the problem you will need to solve will be more complex than a simple application of a formula or function. If you want to save hours of research and frustration, try our live Excelchat service! Our Excel Experts are available 24/7 to answer any Excel question you may have. We guarantee a connection within 30 seconds and a customized solution within 20 minutes.
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