Function: TODAY()

🔍 Purpose:

The TODAY() function returns the current system date (today’s date) from your computer or device.

It updates automatically every day you open the Excel file — making it ideal for reports, dashboards, and attendance systems where the current date must always stay updated.

🧮 Syntax:  =TODAY()


Parameters:

• (None) — This function does not require any arguments.

📘 Explanation:

Excel stores all dates as serial numbers, where:

• 1 = 1 January 1900

• 45000 = around 2023

The TODAY() function fetches the current date from your system’s clock and shows it in a readable format (e.g., 25-Oct-2025).

Each time you open or refresh your workbook, the value of =TODAY() changes automatically to reflect the current date.

🇮🇳 Indian Example 1: Employee Attendance Record

💡 Perfect for attendance templates — every morning, the date updates automatically.

🇮🇳 Indian Example 2: EMI Payment Reminder Sheet

📅 This is extremely common in Indian loan management, tuition fee tracking, and subscription renewal systems.

⚙️ Real-Life Uses:

• Auto-updating today’s date in reports, receipts, and invoices.

• Calculating days remaining or overdue days.

• Marking attendance or daily entries without manual date entry.

• Building project progress trackers or payment reminder dashboards.

🧩 Project Tasks for Students

🧠 Project Task 1: Student Assignment Submission Tracker

Your institute wants to track assignment submission deadlines using today’s date.

👉 Then, add an IF formula for status:
=IF(B2<TODAY(),"Overdue",IF(B2=TODAY(),"Due Today","Pending"))

🧩 Project Task 2: Daily Sales Report System

You’re creating a daily sales record for a local retail shop in India. Each record should automatically show today’s date when entered.

💡 This makes your sheet self-updating and eliminates the need for manual date entry each day.