Date variables are saved when a report definition is created. When a report definition is run, the values for date variables will change depending on 1) what your current reporting month is; or 2) the Base Date specified if you are running a report suite.

Example #1

Let's say that your current reporting month is October 2026 and the system date is November 1, 2026. If you specify 10/1/2026 for the Beginning Fee Date on the Transactions tab and 10/31/2026 for the Ending Fee Date, Tabs3 saves date variables in place of these dates. Tabs3 will save a variable for the first day of the current reporting month in place of the Beginning Fee Date and a variable for the last day of the current reporting month in place of the Ending Fee Date. (If the system date in this example had been October 1, 2026, then a variable for the current date would have been saved as opposed to a variable for the first day of the current reporting month.)

Now let's say it is a month later and you will be using the report definition via the Load button on the report. Let's say that the current reporting month is November 2026 and your current system date is November 10, 2026. When you retrieve the above report definition, the Beginning Fee Date will default to 11/1/2026 (the first day of the month from the current reporting month) and the Ending Fee Date will default to 11/30/2026 (the last day of the month from the current reporting month). The Report Date will default to 11/07/2026 because the Report Date always defaults to the system date.

Using this same example, let's say you will be using the report definition via a report suite. Let's say that the current reporting month is November 2026 and your current system date is November 10, 2026. The Base Date for the report suite defaults to November 1, 2026 but you change it to October 13, 2026. In this case, the Beginning Fee Date will default to 10/1/2026 (the first day of the month from the Base Date) and the Ending Fee Date will default to 10/31/2026 (the last day of the month from the Base Date). The Report Date will once again default to 11/07/2026 because the Report Date always defaults to the system date.

Example #2

Let's say that the current reporting month is February 2026 and the system date is February 10, 2026. If you specify 01/01/2026 for the Beginning Fee Date on the Transactions tab and 2/10/2026 for the Ending Fee Date, Tabs3 saves date variables in place of these dates. Tabs3 will save a variable for the first day of the year in place of the Beginning Fee Date and a variable for the system date in place of the Ending Fee Date.

Now let's say that the current reporting month is March 2026 and the current system date is April 2, 2026. When you retrieve the above report definition, the Beginning Fee Date will default to 01/01/2026 (the first day of the year from the current reporting month) and the Ending Fee Date will default to 04/07/2026 (the current system date).

Now let's say that the current reporting month is December 2026 and the current system date is January 5, 2026. When you retrieve the above report definition, the Beginning Date will default to 01/01/2026 (the first day of the year from the current reporting month) and the Ending Fee Date will default to (the current system date).

Example #3

Let's say that the current reporting month is January 2026 and the system date is January 14, 2026. If you specify 01/01/2026 for the Beginning Advance Date on the Transactions tab and 01/31/2026 for the Ending Advance Date, Tabs3 saves date variables in place of these dates. Tabs3 will save a variable for the first day of the month (not year) in place of the Beginning Advance Date and a variable for the last day of the month. (Note: As an exception, Tabs3 uses the beginning month variable instead of the beginning year variable in this case.)

Example #4

Let's say that the current system date is March 11, 2026. If you specify 3/2/2026 for the Beginning Fee Date on the Transactions tab and 3/11/2026 for the Ending Fee Date, Tabs3 saves the actual dates in the report definition because these dates do not correspond to the system date, the first or last day of the current reporting month, or the first or last day of the year.

Now let's say that the current system date is April 2, 2026. When you retrieve the above report definition, the Beginning Fee Date will default to 3/2/2026 and the Ending Fee Date will default to 3/11/2026 because these dates were saved as part of the report definition.

Example #5

Let's say that the current system date is April 2, 2026 and you specify "Current Quarter" for the Time Period Selector on the Transactions tab. A Beginning Date of 04/01/2026 and an Ending Date of 06/30/2026 will be displayed.

Now let's say that the current system date is November 10, 2026. When you retrieve the above report definition, the Time Period Selector will default to "Current Quarter", the Beginning Date will default to 10/01/2026 and the Ending Date will default to 12/31/2026.

Example #6

Let's say that the current system date is April 2, 2026 and you specify "Custom" for the Time Period Selector on the Transactions tab and specify a Beginning Date of 04/01/2026 and an Ending Date of 04/30/2026.

Now let's say that the current system date is June 1, 2025. When you retrieve the above report definition, the Time Period Selector will default to "Custom", the Beginning Date will default to 04/01/2026 and the Ending Date will default to 04/30/2026. This is because those dates were saved as part of the report definition. If you want future reports to default to the beginning and ending day of the current calendar month, use "Current Calendar Month" for the Time Period Selector as opposed to "Custom". When using "Custom", whatever dates are specified will always be used for future reports.

See also:   Table of Examples