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The function itself is correct. The issue is that the text date is being interpreted with a different date system/locale, so DATEVALUE("2011-01-01") is not being converted to the intended 2011-01-01 serial date, which then makes EOMONTH return a completely different (far future) date.
To fix it in Web Excel:
- Enter the start date as a real date value in a cell, not as a text literal inside
DATEVALUE.- For example, type
2011-01-01into cell A1 and ensure it is right‑aligned (recognized as a date).
- For example, type
- Use
EOMONTHdirectly on that cell:=EOMONTH(A1,3) - If the locale expects a different date format, type the date in that format (for example
2011/01/01or01/01/2011) so that Excel recognizes it as a date. - If dates are stored as text and not recognized, convert them to real dates first (for example, using Text to Columns or a
DATEformula) and then applyEOMONTH.
Once the start date is a valid Excel date value in the correct system, =EOMONTH(start_date,3) will return 2011‑04‑30 instead of a year in the 4000s.
References: