How a spreadsheet stores a date
A date in a cell is a number in disguise: a count of days. Once you know that, date sums make sense.
Task 1A date is a count of days4 questions
A spreadsheet stores every date as a number: a count of days. The cell format decides whether you see the date or the number.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date | Stored as |
| 2 | 1 January 2026 | 46023 |
| 3 | 2 January 2026 | 46024 |
| 4 | 31 January 2026 | 46053 |
Excel and Google Sheets use the same numbers for these dates. You never need to remember them: what matters is that the next day is always one more.
Task 2Typing a date the spreadsheet understands4 questions