Relative Dates

Relative dates are a period of time that is comparative to the current date and are primarily used for saved PROFILES.

For example, when running the same report daily, instead of selecting today’s date each time the report is output, select the relative 'CALENDAR' date of 'TODAY', save it as a 'PROFILE' and each time the report is run, the current day will be reported.

Relative dates can be used when manually running a report real-time from a report screen, but are especially useful when adding report profiles to the Task Scheduler and: 

 

• Dynamically generate the start and end date ranges in the report screen so that date parameters are easily understood. 
• Can be used to filter reports on demand or saved in profiles. 
• Included in profiles assigned to a scheduled batch of reports in Task Scheduler.

 
There are two types of relative dates: 

CALENDAR 
Relative Calendar dates are strictly based on the calendar and are selected by clicking on the 'CALENDAR' radio button and then using the 'SELECT' drop-downs to choose the starting and ending calendar dates. 

Calendar relative dates include options such as 'YESTERDAY', 'TODAY', and 'THIS MONTH-TO-DATE'. For example: A profile could be set up with a relative calendar date of 'TODAY' and added to Task Scheduler to run at the end of each day. The result would be a daily, automatically-generated report of the transactions for the current day. 

Complete List of Relative 'CALENDAR' Date Selections

 

 
Most reports offer the following 'CALENDAR' date selections:

 

FISCAL

Relative Fiscal dates are strictly based on the store’s close schedule and selected by clicking the 'FISCAL' radio button and then using the 'SELECT' drop-downs to choose the starting and ending fiscal periods.

Fiscal relative dates include options such as 'CURRENT PERIOD TO-DATE', 'CURRENT YEAR - PERIOD 5', and 'LAST MONTHLY CLOSE'. For example: A profile could be set up with a relative fiscal date of 'LAST MONTHLY CLOSE' and added to Task Scheduler to run after each monthly close. The result would be a monthly, automatically-generated report of the transactions for the month just closed.

Complete List of Relative 'FISCAL' Date Selections

 

  
Most reports offer the following 'FISCAL' date options:

 

The 'START DATE' and 'END DATE' fields are set according to the relative date options selected, but the profile will store only the relative date, and not the fixed date range shown in the 'START DATE' and 'END DATE' fields.

 

Depending on the report screen:

 

Most reports offer both 'START DATE' and 'END DATE' fields and allow either 'CALENDAR' or 'FISCAL' dates to be selected.

 

 

Some reports only offer a single date, so those only have one 'CALENDAR' / 'FISCAL' drop-down.

 

• For 'CALENDAR', these reports only offer 'TODAY' and 'YESTERDAY'.
• For 'FISCAL', these reports only offer 'LAST [DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, YEARLY] CLOSE'. The date will be set to the last day of the selected period.

 

 

Some reports have two sets of 'START DATE' and 'END DATE' fields to allow comparison of figures in one date range to figures in another date range, fiscal or calendar.

 

 

A single 'FISCAL' selection means this report only allows a single 'FISCAL' period to be selected and only offers 'LAST MONTHLY CLOSE' and 'CURRENT PERIOD TO-DATE'.

 

• 'LAST MONTHLY CLOSE' will set the period to the last fiscal period that closed.
• 'CURRENT PERIOD TO-DATE' will set the period to the current fiscal period in progress.