How to Use the EOMONTH Function in Excel – Example

In Excel, the EOMONTH function calculates the end of a month based on the number of months before or after a given date. The EOMONTH is an abbreviation for “end of month,” and it is commonly used in financial analysis and budgeting to calculate payment due dates, payment periods, and other payment-related calculations.

Syntax of EOMONTH Function

=EOMONTH(date, months)

Argument of EOMONTH Function

date– this is the date from which you want to calculate the month’s end. It can be entered as either a cell reference or a date value surrounded by quotation marks.

months– this is the number of months preceding or following the date for which you want to calculate the month’s end. Positive numbers represent months after the date, while negative numbers represent months before the date.

The return value of the EMONTH Function

The EOMONTH function returns the month’s last day, which is a specified number of months before or after a given date.

Example #1: Application of EOMONTH Function to calculate Payment Dues

Assume you want to calculate the payment due date for an invoice that is due 30 days after the end of the month in which it was issued.

The formula is,

=EOMONTH(A1,0)+30

Explanation:

• The EOMONTH function determines the end of the month for the invoice issue date. 
• The EOMONTH function’s second argument (0) specifies that we want to compute the end of the month for the same month as the invoice issue date. 
• The payment due date is then calculated by adding 30 days.

Example #2: Calculating Budget Using EOMONTH Formula

Assume you have a budget for the first three months of the year and want to calculate the monthly totals. Cells B2:C6 hold your budget, with each row representing a different expense category and each column representing a different month.

The formula to calculate the budget for a particular month is given below:

=SUMIFS((C2:C6),(B2:B6),">="&E3,(B2:B6),"<="&EOMONTH(E3,0))

Explanation:

• The SUMIFS function is used in this formula to sum the values in column C (range C2:C6) that meet the criteria specified in two sets of conditions.
• (B2:B6),”>=”&E3, which means that the values in column B (range B2:B6) must be greater than or equal to the value in cell E3.
• The second set of conditions is (B2:B6),”=”&EOMONTH(E3,0)), which means that the values in column B (range B2:B6) must be less than or equal to the date in cell E3’s last day of the month.
• The EOMONTH(E3,0) function computes the last day of the month for the date in cell E3, which becomes the upper bound in the second set of conditions.
• Finally, this formula adds the values in column C for the rows whose corresponding dates in column B are in the same month as the date in cell E3.

Example #3: Application of EOMONTH Function for Forecasting 

Assume you have a spreadsheet with the number of units sold each month in one column and the date of each sale in another. 

You want to forecast your sales for the next six months using previous sales data.

=FORECAST(EOMONTH(TODAY(),6),C3:C7,B3:B7)

Explanation:

• FORECAST is a function that predicts a value based on previous data. In this case, we’re predicting our sales for the next six months.
• The maximum limit of the date we want to forecast sales for is the return value of EOMONTH(TODAY(),6)
• EOMONTH(TODAY(),6) returns the sixth month’s last day from the current month.
• The range of cells C3:C7 contains the number of units sold each month.
• The range of cells B3:B7 contains the dates of each sale.

Things to Keep in Mind about EOMONTH Function

• The start date argument must be a valid date value, either as a date or as a reference to a cell containing a date value. If the date is not a valid date value, the function will return #NUM! Error.
• #VALUE error – Occurs when one or more of the provided arguments is not a number.

Difference Between the MONTH and EOMONTH Functions in Excel

The EOMONTH function calculates the end of the month for a given date, whereas the MONTH function extracts the month from a given date.

Conclusion:

Overall, the EOMONTH function in Excel is a useful aid in financial assessment and budgeting since it allows users to swiftly calculate payment due dates and perform a set of descriptive and other payment-related analyses.