How to Generate Recurring Dates in Excel
Rent on the last business day of each month. An invoice run every second Tuesday. A review every quarter, a payment every four weeks. Excel's fill handle can extend a plain series of dates — it cannot do any of these, because they land on a different day-number every month.
Last updated: October 2026
| # | Date | Weekday | Moved from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-01-30 | Friday | 2026-01-31 |
| 2 | 2026-02-27 | Friday | 2026-02-28 |
| 3 | 2026-03-31 | Tuesday |
What Excel cannot do here
- Fill Months extends a day-of-month series, and drifts: build each date from the one before and February's 28th makes March's 28th, ratcheting the whole schedule earlier.
- WORKDAY moves a date off a weekend, but knows nothing about "the second Tuesday" or "the last day of the month".
- EOMONTH finds month ends, but not business days or a holiday list.
- Doing all three together means an EOMONTH inside a WORKDAY inside an IF — which is exactly where mistakes live.
The 1-click way (Tellsheet)
Recurring Schedule
Give Recurring Schedule a first date and how often it repeats — daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, every N of those — and it writes the dates to a new sheet, numbered, with weekday names. Monthly schedules can use the same day, the last day, or the nth weekday of the month. If a date lands on a weekend or a holiday, choose the roll convention: next business day, previous, or modified following — forward unless that crosses into the next month. The weekend is configurable (including Friday–Saturday), and every moved date shows where it moved from.
Frequently asked questions
How do I list monthly dates?
Fill Months for a plain series; this for business days, month ends and nth weekdays.
Why does the 31st drift?
Because each date is built from the last. Here the day comes from the start date each time.
What is modified following?
Forward to the next business day, unless that changes month — then backwards.
Friday–Saturday weekend?
Supported, with a holiday list too.
Related Excel guides
The dates it really falls on
Recurring Schedule handles the month ends, the nth weekdays and the roll convention — in one step.
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