# How to get the first day of the quarter in Excel

Find the quarter's first month and build the date: `=DATE(YEAR(A2),ROUNDUP(MONTH(A2)/3,0)*3-2,1)`.

**Excel:** `=DATE(YEAR(A2),ROUNDUP(MONTH(A2)/3,0)*3-2,1)` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B |
| --- | --- |
| Date | Quarter start |
| 2026-01-15 |  |
| 2026-03-31 |  |
| 2026-05-20 |  |
| 2026-08-01 |  |
| 2026-11-11 |  |

Formula in B2, filled to B6: `=DATE(YEAR(A2),ROUNDUP(MONTH(A2)/3,0)*3-2,1)`

Result: 1/1/2026; 1/1/2026; 4/1/2026; 7/1/2026; 10/1/2026

## How it works

`ROUNDUP(MONTH(A2)/3,0)` is the quarter number, and times 3 minus 2 is its first month: 1, 4, 7 or 10. DATE builds the 1st of that month in the same year.

## Other ways

- `=EOMONTH(A2,-1-MOD(MONTH(A2)-1,3))+1`: Steps back to the end of the previous quarter and adds a day.

## Common mistakes

- The result is a date serial; format it as a date.
- For fiscal quarters, shift the month first: the quarter starts `MOD(MONTH(A2)-start,3)` months before the date's month.

## Questions

**How do I calculate quarter-to-date sales?**

`=SUMIFS(amounts,dates,">="&DATE(YEAR(F1),ROUNDUP(MONTH(F1)/3,0)*3-2,1),dates,"<="&F1)`.

**How do I get the quarter end?**

`=EOMONTH(A2,MOD(3-MONTH(A2),3))`.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/first-day-of-the-quarter