Report Definitions: Date Conventions Used in Report Definitions

Date Conventions Used in Report Definitions

Report Definitions can be saved with date variables. The values for these date variables will change when a report definition is executed based on the current reporting month and the system date. If the report definition is run via a report suite, instead of using the current reporting month, the values for the date variables will be based on the Base Date specified when running the report suite.

When a report definition is saved, Tabs3 treats date fields as follows:

	When the current system date is the same as the date saved in a report definition, Tabs3 saves a date variable (named CURRENT) rather than the actual date. This allows a report definition to always use the current date rather than having you manually adjust dates each time a report definition is used.
	The CURRENT date variable always takes precedence over any other date variables when a report definition is saved. For example, when the current system date is also the first or last day of a current month, Tabs3 saves a variable for CURRENT rather than a variable for the first or last day of the month. Likewise, when the current date is also the first day or last day of a year, Tabs3 saves a variable for CURRENT rather than a variable for the first or last day of the year.
	Tabs3 saves a date variable in place of a date when the date specified is the first day of the current reporting month (named BEGMONTH), the last day of the current reporting month (named ENDMONTH), the first day of the current fiscal year (named BEGYEAR) or the last day of the current fiscal year (named ENDYEAR). This allows a report definition to use the first day of the current reporting month or last day of the current reporting instead of having you manually adjust these dates each time a report definition is used.
	When the current reporting month is in January and January 1 is specified for a date, a variable for the first day of the month (BEGMONTH) is saved rather than the first day of the year (BEGYEAR). Likewise, when the current reporting month is in December and December 31 is specified for a date, a variable for the last day of the month (ENDMONTH) is saved rather than a variable for the last day of the year (ENDYEAR).

Notes: The Report Date is not saved with the report definitions. It will always default to the system date. Likewise, when creating a report definition for statements, the Statement Date is not saved with the report definition. It will always default to the system date.

Tabs3 assumes a calendar year (January-December) when saving variables for the first and last days of the year regardless of the fiscal year defined in Tabs3.

The following table shows multiple examples of how Date Variables are calculated.

Table of Examples Portraying How Date Variables are Calculated
No.	System Date	Current Reporting Month	Date Saved in Report Definition	Results
1	02-11-2026	February 2026	02-01-2026	BEGMONTH
2	03-01-2026	February 2026	03-31-2026	ENDMONTH
3	03-01-2026	February 2026	03-01-2026	CURRENT
4	03-04-2026	February 2026	01-01-2026	BEGYEAR
5	02-01-2026	February 2026	02-01-2026	CURRENT
6	01-31-2026	February 2026	01-31-2026	CURRENT
7	03-01-2026	February 2026	12-31-2026	ENDYEAR
8	01-01-2026	January 2026	01-01-2026	CURRENT
9	02-01-2026	January 2026	02-01-2026	CURRENT
10	02-01-2026	January 2026	01-01-2026	BEGMONTH
11	12-31-2026	January 2026	01-01-2026	BEGMONTH
12	02-01-2026	January 2026	01-31-2026	ENDMONTH
13	02-01-2026	January 2026	12-31-2026	ENDYEAR
14	03-04-2026	January 2026	03-11-2026	03-11-2026
15	12-02-2026	November 2026	12-31-2026	ENDYEAR
16	12-02-2026	December 2026	12-31-2026	ENDMONTH
17	12-01-2026	December 2026	12-31-2026	ENDMONTH
18	12-31-2026	December 2026	12-31-2026	CURRENT
19	12-31-2026	December 2026	12-01-2026	BEGMONTH

How can you save report definitions with a first day of the year variable when your current reporting month is January?
You can temporarily change the current reporting month to February and then change it back to January after creating the report definition. Alternatively, you could create the report definition and then edit the file with a text editor and change the BEGMONTH variable to BEGYEAR. You can use the same methods if you want to save a report definition with a last day of the year variable when your current reporting month is December. You could edit the file with a text editor and change the ENDMONTH variable to ENDYEAR.

Tabs3 treats date fields differently when the time period selector is used. Reports that use the time period selector include the Receipt Allocation Report, Client Realization Report, and Timekeeper Realization Report. When a report definition is saved for a report with a time period selector, Tabs3 treats period selected as follows:

	When the time period selector uses a pre-defined range (i.e., Today, Current Reporting Month, Prior Calendar Year, etc.), Tabs3 saves a variable rather than the actual date. This allows a report definition to always use a time period based on the current date rather than having you manually adjust these dates each time a report definition is used.
	If "Custom" is used for the time period selector, the dates selected for the date range are saved with the variable. Since these dates are fixed, the same dates will always be retrieved when loading this report definition.