Choosing the Right Equation Type: Numeric vs. Date

Learn when to use a date or numeric equation field in this article.

Overview

When setting up an equation field, you must select an equation type: Numeric or Date. Your choice depends on what you want the result of the equation to be—either a number or a date.

When to Use Numeric

Select the "Numeric" option if your final output needs to be a number. This includes:

• Extracting Numeric Components from Dates: For example, extracting the year (e.g., "2024") out of a full date like "01/01/2024":
• Calculations that will return number values: Such as the number of adding two or more numeric fields together (e.g., {Starting Inventory}+{Inventory Received}-{Inventory Shipped}):

When to Use Date

Select the "Date" option if your final output should be another date. This often involves:

• Date Arithmetic: Adding or subtracting days, weeks, or months from a given date. For example, calculating 30 days after an order date for a due date:

• Shifting Dates in Time: Adding years to a date field to have the equation return the date in the future (e.g., {Date} + 7):

Quick Reference:

• Numeric Equation Type: Use if your result is a number (e.g., year of a date, difference between two dates in days).
• Date Equation Type: Use if your result is another date (e.g., current date plus 30 days).