Imagine this: You’re copying data from a PDF into Excel, and the date field only shows the month and day, like 10/12. It’s fine—until you need to import that data into QuickBooks Online or another tool that requires a complete date with a year. Suddenly, you’re stuck with incomplete dates, and QuickBooks isn’t having it. What really needs to happen for most bookkeeping softwares that allow you to import data is they need a year as part of your date. I had this very issue come up with a client import so I needed to figure out how to add the year to dates in my Excel spreadsheet.
Manually adding the year to each date sounds tedious, but there’s a faster, smarter way to handle this problem directly in Excel.
Why Excel Can’t Recognize Incomplete Dates
When you paste dates from a PDF or other sources, Excel might treat them as plain text if they’re missing the year. Instead of recognizing "10/12" as October 12th, it sees it as just a string of text. This makes sorting, calculations, or importing into tools like QuickBooks a hassle.
The Quick Fix: Automatically Add the Missing Year
Here’s how to transform incomplete dates into fully formatted ones:
1 Use a Formula to Add the Year
in a blank column, enter this formula:
=DATEVALUE(A1 & "/2024")
(Just Highlight the above formula and paste into the excel spreadsheet in a cell near the cell that has the incomplete date that needs the year added to the end. )
Replace A1 with the first cell in your date column.
2 Paste and Choose Destination Formatting
Copy the formula and paste it into the cell where you want the resulting date to appear.
When pasting, right-click and choose the destination formatting option (not the source formatting). This ensures the formula works properly in your Excel file.
3 Drag the Formula Down the Column
Click and drag the fill handle (the small square in the bottom-right corner of the cell) to apply the formula to the rest of the column.
At this point, Excel converts the text-based date into a valid date format. It may look like a random number at first—don’t worry, that’s how Excel internally stores dates.
4 Format the Column as Dates
Highlight the column you just filled (the one showing random numbers).
Go to the Home tab, find the Number section, and select Date from the dropdown.
Choose your preferred date format (I usually go with "Short Date" for importing into accounting software).
5 Replace the Original Dates
Highlight the corrected dates you just created.
Copy them and paste them over the original column of dates that didn’t have the year.
When pasting, choose Paste Special → Values Only to ensure you’re copying the fixed values, not the formulas.
Wrapping It Up: Add the Year to Dates in Excel with Ease
Formatting dates in Excel doesn’t have to be a hassle. By appending the missing year with a simple formula and converting text to proper dates, you’ll save yourself hours of manual work. Whether you’re preparing data for QuickBooks Online or another tool, this method ensures your dates are ready to go.
Still unsure or prefer a visual walkthrough?
I’ve created a step-by-step YouTube video where I show exactly how to fix incomplete dates in Excel using the DATEVALUE formula. You’ll see how to add the year, format the dates, and prepare your data for QuickBooks or other tools. Watch it below!
Need more help?
If you have questions about this process or any other Excel issues, feel free to drop them in the comments or email me at joanne@joannemoxam.com. I’m happy to help!
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