Articles on: Function Reference

Date Filter and Date Calculations

In this tutorial, you will learn how to use special filters and dynamic date calculations in DataChamp.

We’ll use a real-world example: an order needs to be shipped tomorrow to arrive at the customer’s address in two days.

Scenario:

When a new order is placed, we automatically assign a tag containing the planned delivery date, such as 2025-08-02.

This tells us the order must be shipped tomorrow to meet the two-day delivery window.

Step 1: Create a Report

Create a new report and select "Orders" as the report type.
Add the columns you need — e.g., Order Number.
Remove any columns you don’t need.

Step 2: Add Custom Columns

Create the following custom columns to define your shipping settings:

Custom Column Name	Value	Purpose
number of parcels	1	Default: one parcel per order
No Signature Required	02	DPD setting for “no signature”
Service Code	PE24	Standard DPD service
Enhanced Compensation	N	Disables insurance coverage
Delivery Notification	y	Enables recipient notifications
Shipping Date	addDays(Date(%Y-%m-%d), 1)	Sets the shipping date to tomorrow

The formula addDays(Date(%Y-%m-%d), 1) adds 1 day to today’s date, dynamically setting the shipping date to tomorrow.

Please also take a look at: Date Format

Step 3: Apply Filters

We now filter for:

Orders that are unfulfilled
Will be delivered via DPD
Have a delivery date tag set for two days from now

Apply the Following Filters

Filter	Condition	Value
Fulfillment Status	Unfulfilled
Shipping Method: Title	includes	DPD
Tag	equals	addDays(Date(%Y-%m-%d), 2)

Ensure that the tag format (e.g., 2025-08-02) matches the format generated by the formula %Y-%m-%d, otherwise the filter won't match.

ow see all unfulfilled DPD orders that need to be shipped tomorrow.

Adjust the Date Range Easily:

Want to find orders due for delivery in four days?

Just change the Tag filter to: addDays(Date(%Y-%m-%d), 4)

If you're using a custom attribute instead of a tag to store the delivery date, simply update the filter to use "Custom Attributes" instead of "Tag".

More Examples Where Date Functions Are Useful

When the payment term (30 days after order date) ends today

Filter	Value
Order Date	addDays(Date(%Y-%m-%d), -30)

→ Shows all orders placed 30 days ago.

When the payment term ends next week (7 days before due)

Filter	Value
Order Date	addDays(Date(%Y-%m-%d), -23)

→ Finds all orders from 23 days ago, meaning payment is due in 7 days.

Reminder email for customers who ordered 30 days ago

Filter	Value
Order Date	addDays(Date(%Y-%m-%d), -30)

→ Useful for campaigns like: “Need a refill?”

Important Reference

addDays(Date(%Y-%m-%d), 0) → today
addDays(..., -1) → yesterday
dateAdd({{Processed at}}, 12, 'months') → set an expiration date 12 months later

Available Time Units for Date Functions

Unit	Aliases
year	"year", "years", "y"
month	"month", "months", "M"
week	"week", "weeks", "w"
day	"day", "days", "d"
hour	"hour", "hours", "h"
minute	"minute", "minutes", "m"

Updated on: 05/08/2025

Was this article helpful?

Thank you!