Do you need to find a future date by adding weeks to a present or given date in Excel? You’re in the right place; keep reading!

Microsoft Excel comes with exhaustive methods and functions to manipulate dates in worksheets. One such move is the ability to add weeks to date and know a future date without relying on manual processes like referring to a calendar or calculator.

If you’re looking to learn how to add weeks to date, there are plenty of methods. Read this article until the end to discover all the methods you must know. Let’s get going!

Reasons to Add Weeks to Date in Excel

Find below why you must know how to get a future date by adding weeks to date in Excel:

• To calculate project deadlines and timelines accurately.
• You can track and forecast project progress by adding weeks to start dates.
• Also, you may plan and schedule events or appointments with flexibility.
• At times, you can analyze trends and patterns based on week-based data.
• If you need to calculate employee work schedules or shift rotations, you must learn this skill.
• Furthermore, you might need to calculate loan or mortgage payment due dates in a personal or professional capacity using this technique.
• You can determine project milestones and deliverable deadlines.
• Also, you might need to perform date-based calculations for inventory management by adding weeks to manufacturing or procuring dates.
• Finally, this date manipulation technique lets you organize and manage personal or professional calendars effectively.

It’s time to explore and try out various methods to add weeks to date in Excel below:

Add Weeks to Date in Excel Using Simple Arithmetic

Adding weeks to a given date and getting a future date is as easy as applying an addition and a multiplication operator in your Excel dataset.

Suppose, you’ve stocked canned foods. The products come with 52 weeks of best-before and manufacturing dates. However, the containers don’t show the exact best-before date.

This might be annoying to your customers so you want to print the exact best-before dates by adding 52 weeks to the product manufacturing dates. Here’s how you can do this:

1. Create Products, MFG Date, and Best-Before columns as shown in the above image.
2. In cell C2, enter the following formula and hit Enter:

=B2+7*52

3. You should now see the future date after adding 52 weeks to the manufacturing date.
4. Drag the fill handle down the column until the point where data exists in the adjacent cell in column B to copy and paste the same formula automatically.
5. Excel will instantly populate the best-before dates for the rest of the products.

In the above formula, you can modify the following formula elements according to the descriptions outlined below:

• B2: is the reference cell for the starting or given date
• 52: is the number of weeks you want to add

This method has a drawback in that you can only add the same number of weeks to all the given dates. How about you need to add different numbers of weeks to the given date? In this scenario, you can add a column named Best-Before Weeks and enter the values in the weeks by which the products are fit for consumption. Then, follow these steps:

1. Select the cell D2 for the first best-before date calculation.
2. Enter the following formula into the cell and press the Enter key:

=B2+7*C2

3. Drag the fill handle to apply the same formula in the rest of the cells under column D.
4. You get different date values after adding the respective weeks to the start manufacturing dates.

In the above formula, both the start date B2 and weeks to be added C2 are variable. So, the calculation is dynamic. You can change the values whenever you get new stocks of canned foods.

How to Add Weeks to a Date in Excel Using SUM Function

Another easy way of adding weeks to dates in Excel is using the SUM function. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Highlight the cell where you need a future date after adding a certain week to the given date.
2. Enter the following formula into the cell and press Enter:

=SUM(B2+7*C2)

3. In the above formula, B2 is the start date, and C2 is the number of weeks you must add. So, modify the cell references according to your own dataset.
4. Use the fill handle to apply the formula to the other cells in the column by dragging it down.

How to Add Weeks to a Date in Excel Using Paste Special

Suppose, you need to add a specific week, like 52 weeks, to a date to get the best-before date for all the products. So, instead of creating multiple columns and cell references for a formula, you can just use the Paste Special tool to automatically get the future date. Here’s how:

1. Convert the weeks to dates by multiplying the week number by 7, and put it in any blank cell in your worksheet.
2. Now, copy the value by pressing Ctrl + C.
3. Select the entire column of dates to which you want to add the weeks.
4. If the column has thousands of rows beneath it, select the first cell and press Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow to select the entire column until which data exists.
5. Now, press Ctrl + Alt + V to bring up the Paste Special dialog box.

6. There, select Values under the Paste section and Add under the Operation section.
7. Press OK to apply the changes.

8. Excel will instantly add the weeks and display the future dates.

This method is only suitable when you got a long column of dates to which you want to add a specific week in a few clicks. If you need to add carrying weeks to the dates, this method won’t work. When following this method, create a backup of the original or given date values before applying the Paste Special function.

Use This VBA Script When Adding Weeks to a Date in Excel

Let’s consider, you’ve automated a date analysis where you want the task “add weeks to dates” to complete automatically in Excel. For this, you can add the following script to the existing VBA code. Here’s how to use the script:

1. Hit the Alt + F11 to bring up the Excel VBA Editor.
2. On the toolbar, click Insert and choose Module.
3. In the empty module, copy and paste the following VBA script:

Sub AddWeeksToDate()
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Dim dateRange As Range
    Dim cell As Range
    
    ' Set the worksheet
    Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet 5") ' Replace "Sheet5" with the actual sheet name
    
    ' Set the date range
    Set dateRange = ws.Range("B2:B8") ' Replace "B2:B8" with the actual range address
    
    ' Loop through each cell in the date range
    For Each cell In dateRange
        ' Check if the cell value is a valid date
        If IsDate(cell.Value) Then
            ' Add 52 weeks to the date
            cell.Offset(0, 1).Value = cell.Value + (52 * 7)
        Else
            ' If the cell value is not a valid date, display an error message
            cell.Offset(0, 1).Value = "Invalid Date"
        End If
    Next cell
End Sub

4. In the above script, you need to modify the following code elements according to your own dataset:
   • "Sheet 5": should be the actual worksheet name
   • cell.Value + (52 * 7): change 52 to the exact weeks you want to add. like 10, 15, etc.
   • ws.Range("B2:B8"): B2:B8 is the source of the start dates
   • cell.Offset(0, 1): this tells that the calculated values will populate under column C. You can change it to cell.Offset(0, 2), if you need the calculated dates under column D, and so on.
5. Click the Save button when you’re done with the modifications.
6. Close the Excel VBA Editor.

7. Hit Alt + F8 to bring up the Macro dialog box.
8. Select the AddWeeksToDate macro and hit Run.

That’s it! Excel will automatically convert the starting dates to end dates or whichever you’re looking for.

Also read: How To Use The VBA Code You Find Online

Add Weeks to Date in Excel Using Office Scripts

If you’re working on Office Scripts for advanced automation in Excel, you can use the following code to automate the task of adding weeks to dates. Find below the steps to use the code:

1. Go to the Automate tab and click New Script inside the Scripting Tools command menu.
2. Copy and paste the following Office Scripts code inside the Code Editor:

function main(workbook: ExcelScript.Workbook) {
	let selectedSheet = workbook.getActiveWorksheet();
	// Set range D2 on selectedSheet
	selectedSheet.getRange("D2").setFormulaLocal("=B2+7*C2");
	// Paste to range D3:D8 on selectedSheet from range D2 on selectedSheet
	selectedSheet.getRange("D3:D8").copyFrom(selectedSheet.getRange("D2"), ExcelScript.RangeCopyType.all, false, false);
}

3. Click Save script.
4. Select the Run button and Excel will automatically calculate and populate the future dates.
5. You should get the dates in the destination cell range D2:D8.

In the above Office Scripts code, you must modify the following code elements to make the code work:

• getRange("D2"): the first cell of the column where you want the calculated dates
• setFormulaLocal("=B2+7*C2"): here, B2 is the start date and C2 is the specific week value to add to the start date
• getRange("D3:D8"): the target cell range where Excel will generate the calculated date values

The above method will only work if you’ve got the Automate tab on your Excel desktop or web app. You should get this feature if you’ve got Microsoft 365 Business Standard or a better subscription. Also, you must use the Excel for Microsoft 365 desktop app if you want to get the feature on your PC. Not to mention, you should connect to the internet to use Office Scripts.

How to Add Weeks to a Date in Excel Using Power Query

Are importing date values in columns from an external database and want to add weeks to those date values? You can do this using the Power Query tool on Excel by following these steps:

1. Click the Data tab and select Get Data.
2. On the Get Data context menu, choose the source of data. For example: From Database > From Microsoft Access Database.

3. The Power Query tool will open if the data import is successful showing the columns of dates.

The data I imported contains these columns: Product, MFG Date, and Best-Before Weeks. Find below how to add the Best-Before Date column in Power Querry by adding weeks to dates:

1. On the Power Query editor, click Add Column.
2. Select the Custom Column button.
3. Type a column name into the New column name field on the Custom Column wizard.
4. Inside the Custom column formula field, enter the following formula:

=DateTime.Date(Date.AddWeeks([MFG Date], [#"Best-Before Weeks"]))

5. In the above Power Query formula, ensure you change the following references:
   • [MFG Date]: the column header of the input date values
   • [#"Best-Before Weeks"]: the column header of the output date values
6. Click OK on the Custom Column wizard to save the formula and close the dialog box.

7. This should create the Best-Before Date column with weeks added to the corresponding dates.

8. To import this into your Excel worksheet as a new table, click File and choose Close & Load on the Power Query tool.

Conclusion

Now you know the methods of adding weeks to a date in Excel. The methods include the utilization of simple arithmetic operators to complex automated tools like Excel VBA and Office Scripts.

If you’re an entry-level Excel user, you can stick to the methods like Simple Arithmetic, the SUM function, or the Paste Special tool.

Contrarily, if you’ve got some experience in coding, you can try the Excel VBA and Office Scripts-based methods. Also, if you’re an expert Excel user and often import date-based datasets from external databases and servers, you can also try the Power Query tool to add weeks to dates in Excel.