A calendar quarter is a period of three consecutive months, starting from January, April, July, or October. For example, the first quarter of 2024 is from January 1 to March 31, and the fourth quarter of 2024 is from October 1 to December 31. Calculating the calendar quarter for a date can be useful for various purposes, such as reporting, budgeting, forecasting, or analysis.
In this article, we will show you how to calculate the calendar quarter for a date in Excel using a simple formula. We will also explain the basic theory behind the formula, the procedures to follow, and some alternative approaches. Finally, we will demonstrate the formula with a real data example and an Excel table.
The basic idea of calculating the calendar quarter for a date is to divide the month number of the date by 3, and then round up the result to the nearest integer. This way, we can assign a quarter number from 1 to 4 to each month, as shown in the table below:
| Month | Month Number | Quarter Number |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 1 |
| February | 2 | 1 |
| March | 3 | 1 |
| April | 4 | 2 |
| May | 5 | 2 |
| June | 6 | 2 |
| July | 7 | 3 |
| August | 8 | 3 |
| September | 9 | 3 |
| October | 10 | 4 |
| November | 11 | 4 |
| December | 12 | 4 |
To get the month number of a date, we can use the MONTH function in Excel, which returns a value between 1 and 12. To divide the month number by 3, we can simply use the division operator (/). To round up the result to the nearest integer, we can use the ROUNDUP function in Excel, which rounds a number up to a specified number of digits. In this case, we want to round up to zero digits, so that we get a whole number.
Procedures
To calculate the calendar quarter for a date in Excel, we can use the following formula:
=ROUNDUP(MONTH(date)/3,0)
where date is the cell that contains the date value.
For example, if we have the date 19-Jan-2024 in cell A2, we can enter the formula =ROUNDUP(MONTH(A2)/3,0) in cell B2, and get the result 1, which means the date is in the first quarter.
If we want to add a “Q” prefix to the quarter number, we can concatenate the letter “Q” to the formula using the ampersand (&) operator. For example, the formula =“Q”&ROUNDUP(MONTH(A2)/3,0) will return “Q1” for the date 19-Jan-2024.
Explanation
The formula =ROUNDUP(MONTH(date)/3,0) works as follows:
- The MONTH function extracts the month number from the date. For example, MONTH(19-Jan-2024) returns 1, since January is the first month.
- The month number is divided by 3, since there are 3 months in a quarter. For example, 1/3 returns 0.3333, which is the fractional part of the quarter number.
- The ROUNDUP function rounds up the result of the division to the nearest whole number, which is the quarter number. For example, ROUNDUP(0.3333,0) returns 1, since 0.3333 rounded up to the next whole number is 1.
- The formula returns the quarter number as a value between 1 and 4. For example, the formula =ROUNDUP(MONTH(19-Jan-2024)/3,0) returns 1, which means the date 19-Jan-2024 is in the first quarter.
Example
To demonstrate the formula with a real data example, let’s assume we have a list of sales transactions with dates and amounts in columns A and B, as shown in the table below:
| Date | Amount |
|---|---|
| 19-Jan-2024 | $500 |
| 15-Feb-2024 | $600 |
| 10-Mar-2024 | $700 |
| 05-Apr-2024 | $800 |
| 01-May-2024 | $900 |
| 07-Jun-2024 | $1000 |
| 03-Jul-2024 | $1100 |
| 09-Aug-2024 | $1200 |
| 04-Sep-2024 | $1300 |
| 11-Oct-2024 | $1400 |
| 06-Nov-2024 | $1500 |
| 02-Dec-2024 | $1600 |
We want to calculate the calendar quarter for each date in column A, and display the result in column C. To do this, we can enter the formula =ROUNDUP(MONTH(A2)/3,0) in cell C2, and copy it down to the rest of the column. We will get the following output:
| Date | Amount | Quarter |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Jan-2024 | $500 | 1 |
| 15-Feb-2024 | $600 | 1 |
| 10-Mar-2024 | $700 | 1 |
| 05-Apr-2024 | $800 | 2 |
| 01-May-2024 | $900 | 2 |
| 07-Jun-2024 | $1000 | 2 |
| 03-Jul-2024 | $1100 | 3 |
| 09-Aug-2024 | $1200 | 3 |
| 04-Sep-2024 | $1300 | 3 |
| 11-Oct-2024 | $1400 | 4 |
| 06-Nov-2024 | $1500 | 4 |
| 02-Dec-2024 | $1600 | 4 |
We can also add a “Q” prefix to the quarter number by using the formula =“Q”&ROUNDUP(MONTH(A2)/3,0) in column D. We will get the following output:
| Date | Amount | Quarter | Quarter with Q |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19-Jan-2024 | $500 | 1 | Q1 |
| 15-Feb-2024 | $600 | 1 | Q1 |
| 10-Mar-2024 | $700 | 1 | Q1 |
| 05-Apr-2024 | $800 | 2 | Q2 |
| 01-May-2024 | $900 | 2 | Q2 |
| 07-Jun-2024 | $1000 | 2 | Q2 |
| 03-Jul-2024 | $1100 | 3 | Q3 |
| 09-Aug-2024 | $1200 | 3 | Q3 |
| 04-Sep-2024 | $1300 | 3 | Q3 |
| 11-Oct-2024 | $1400 | 4 | Q4 |
| 06-Nov-2024 | $1500 | 4 | Q4 |
| 02-Dec-2024 | $1600 | 4 | Q4 |
Alternative Approaches
There are some alternative ways to calculate the calendar quarter for a date in Excel, such as using the CHOOSE function, the CEILING function, or the INT function. Here are some examples of these approaches:
- Using the CHOOSE function: =CHOOSE(MONTH(date),1,1,1,2,2,2,3,3,3,4,4,4)
- Using the CEILING function: =CEILING(MONTH(date)/3,1)
- Using the INT function: =INT((MONTH(date)-1)/3)+1
These formulas will give the same result as the ROUNDUP formula, but they may have different advantages or disadvantages depending on the situation. For example, the CHOOSE function allows you to customize the quarter assignment for each month, but it is also longer and less flexible. The CEILING function is similar to the ROUNDUP function, but it rounds up to a multiple of a specified number, which may not always be 1. The INT function is shorter and simpler than the ROUNDUP function, but it rounds down instead of up, so you need to subtract 1 from the month number and add 1 to the final result.
