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Start Date Formulas not appearing in reports

aecross

Hi community - ran into an issue I've never experienced before. Across all my clients, we use formulas to project dates (we've used durations/predecessors in the past, but it's not our preferred method).

If we look specifically at the "TEST - SD - Internal Scope Alignment Call" line, you can see the "Start Date" formula, nothing crazy, just adding 1 day to the previous complete date. In the main sheet, this is computing a date: 03/24/26.

However, in my report, it is not pulling in a date. It just shows there is a formula in the cell and its non-editable.

I've confirmed i'm sourcing from the correct sheet and pulling in the correct columns.

I have a rollup sheet that indexes the start and complete dates of specific tasks as well, Internal Scope Alignment Call being one of them. When it's a hard coded date, the index formula works; when it's a formula populated date, it's blank.

Can someone please explain why this is happening? And how to remedy? Or is this just a glitch?

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khasimbashashaik

Hey @aecross,
It looks like the formula is calculating correctly in the source sheet, but the report isn't recognizing the result as a valid date. I'd check that the Start Date column is set to a Date column type and that the formula is returning a true date value, not text. Since hard-coded dates work, the formula output may be the issue.

Please feel free to reach out if you need any further support.

aecross

Thank you!

Confirmed that both columns are set to date column types. The cell has the blue calendar in the corner, so it looks like it's returning a true date… how else could i test that it's returning a true date? Is there a better way to write my formula?

khasimbashashaik

Thanks for confirming. Since the cells are showing the calendar icon, the formula is most likely returning a valid date value.
One thing to test — try referencing the formula result in another helper column using:
=DATEONLY([your date column]@row)
or
=[Your date Column]@row+0

Then use that helper column in the report to see if the report recognizes it correctly.

Also check:

The report column type is set to Date
There are no hidden spaces/errors in the formula
Cross-sheet formulas or hierarchy formulas sometimes behave differently in reports

Another option is to simplify the formula temporarily and test with:
=Today()
If the report recognizes that correctly, then part of the original formula may be causing the issue.

aecross

I added a helper column and added in the DATEONLY formula.

Which is showing as #INVALID DATA TYPE error…

Confirmed that it's a date column though…

Using the Start Date + 0 option

Gives the same #INVALID DATA TYPE error

Paul Newcome

Try deleting the column from your report, refreshing your browser tab, then adding the column back in.

Paul Newcome

@khasimbashashaik If you are using AI in your responses, please verify the response before posting. There is no TEXT function in Smartsheet. The formula in the original screenshots also shows that none of those things are being used.

aecross

Lol, thank you for jumping in, Paul! I removed, refreshed, and added it back in—still blank.

My formulas did include an IFERROR statement; i removed that to have just:

=WORKDAY([Complete Date]6, 1)

but it still returns #INVALID DATA TYPE

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