Use when writing a SOQL query that groups or filters records by a date period — day, week, calendar month/quarter/year, or fiscal month/quarter/year — with the 13 SOQL date functions (CALENDAR_MONTH/QUARTER/YEAR, DAY_IN_MONTH/WEEK/YEAR, DAY_ONLY, FISCAL_MONTH/QUARTER/YEAR, HOUR_IN_DAY, WEEK_IN_MONTH/YEAR). Covers WHERE-clause filtering with no GROUP BY, the SELECT-requires-GROUP-BY rule, the ban on comparing a date-function result to a date literal, the custom-fiscal-year restriction on FISCAL_* functions, and the dateTime-only inputs to DAY_ONLY()/HOUR_IN_DAY(). NOT for SOQL relative date literals (TODAY, LAST_N_DAYS, THIS_FISCAL_YEAR — those are literals, not functions), NOT for Apex Date/Datetime class methods, NOT for GROUP BY/ROLLUP/CUBE/HAVING mechanics (use apex/apex-aggregate-queries), and NOT for time-zone conversion internals (use apex/timezone-and-datetime-pitfalls).
Use when writing a SOQL query that groups or filters records by a date period — day, week, calendar month/quarter/year, or fiscal month/quarter/year — with the 13 SOQL date functions (CALENDAR_MONTH/QUARTER/YEAR, DAY_IN_MONTH/WEEK/YEAR, DAY_ONLY, FISCAL_MONTH/QUARTER/YEAR, HOUR_IN_DAY, WEEK_IN_MONTH/YEAR). Covers WHERE-clause filtering with no GROUP BY, the SELECT-requires-GROUP-BY rule, the ban on comparing a date-function result to a date literal, the custom-fiscal-year restriction on FISCAL_* functions, and the dateTime-only inputs to DAY_ONLY()/HOUR_IN_DAY(). NOT for SOQL relative date literals (TODAY, LAST_N_DAYS, THIS_FISCAL_YEAR — those are literals, not functions), NOT for Apex Date/Datetime class methods, NOT for GROUP BY/ROLLUP/CUBE/HAVING mechanics (use apex/apex-aggregate-queries), and NOT for time-zone conversion internals (use apex/timezone-and-datetime-pitfalls).
category
apex
salesforce-version
Spring '25+
well-architected-pillars
["Performance","Operational Excellence"]
triggers
["group opportunities by fiscal quarter directly in a SOQL query","filter records where the calendar year of CloseDate equals 2026 without a date literal","count rows per calendar month in the database instead of looping over them in Apex","getting an error comparing a date function to a date literal in a WHERE clause","convert a CreatedDate dateTime to just its date portion inside SOQL with DAY_ONLY"]
["The sObject and the date or dateTime field to group or filter by","The reporting period: day, week, calendar month/quarter/year, or fiscal month/quarter/year","The org's fiscal-year configuration (standard vs. custom fiscal years) — it gates the FISCAL_* functions"]
outputs
["A SOQL query that buckets or filters by the correct date function","Guidance on WHERE-only filtering vs. SELECT + GROUP BY placement, and calendar-vs-fiscal / date-vs-dateTime function selection"]
dependencies
[]
version
1.0.0
author
Pranav Nagrecha
updated
"2026-07-08T00:00:00.000Z"
SOQL Date Functions
This skill activates when a query needs to group or filter records by a date period — pulling the year, quarter, month, week, day, or hour out of a Date or DateTime field inside SOQL instead of reading every row into Apex and bucketing them by hand. The mechanism is the family of SOQL date functions (CALENDAR_YEAR(), FISCAL_QUARTER(), DAY_ONLY(), and ten more). They are one of the seven function categories in the SOQL SELECT reference, alongside aggregate functions, convertCurrency(), convertTimezone(), FORMAT(), GROUPING(), and toLabel().
Before Starting
Gather this context before working on anything in this domain:
Know whether you are grouping or just filtering. Both are valid. A date function can appear in a WHERE clause to filter results even when the query has no GROUP BY clause at all (e.g. WHERE CALENDAR_YEAR(CloseDate) = 2026). It does not force you into aggregation.
Know the field type. Most date functions take a Date or DateTime field. Two of them — DAY_ONLY() and HOUR_IN_DAY() — accept only a DateTime field. Pointing them at a Date field is a query error.
Know the org's fiscal-year configuration.FISCAL_MONTH(), FISCAL_QUARTER(), and FISCAL_YEAR() are not supported when the org has custom (generic) fiscal years enabled. If the org uses custom fiscal periods, these functions are unavailable and you must group by calendar periods or a formula field instead.
Remember the time-zone basis. SOQL returns DateTime values as UTC. Date functions bucket on that raw UTC instant unless you wrap the field in convertTimezone(), so a record created at 11pm local can land in the "next day" bucket. See apex/timezone-and-datetime-pitfalls for the full treatment.
Core Concepts
The 13 date functions
Each returns a number except DAY_ONLY(), which returns a :
Date
Function
Returns
Input
Notes
CALENDAR_MONTH(field)
Number (1–12)
Date/DateTime
Calendar month
CALENDAR_QUARTER(field)
Number (1–4)
Date/DateTime
Calendar quarter
CALENDAR_YEAR(field)
Number
Date/DateTime
Calendar year
DAY_IN_MONTH(field)
Number
Date/DateTime
Day of month
DAY_IN_WEEK(field)
Number
Date/DateTime
Day of week
DAY_IN_YEAR(field)
Number
Date/DateTime
Day of year
DAY_ONLY(field)
Date
DateTime only
Date portion of a DateTime
FISCAL_MONTH(field)
Number
Date/DateTime
Not supported with custom fiscal years
FISCAL_QUARTER(field)
Number
Date/DateTime
Not supported with custom fiscal years
FISCAL_YEAR(field)
Number
Date/DateTime
Not supported with custom fiscal years
HOUR_IN_DAY(field)
Number (0–23)
DateTime only
Hour of day
WEEK_IN_MONTH(field)
Number
Date/DateTime
Ordinal week within the month
WEEK_IN_YEAR(field)
Number
Date/DateTime
Ordinal week within the year
Two placements: filter (WHERE) and group (SELECT + GROUP BY)
A date function has two independent jobs:
Filter — put it in the WHERE clause to keep only rows in a period. This works with noGROUP BY:
SELECT Id, Amount FROM Opportunity WHERE CALENDAR_YEAR(CloseDate) =2026
Group — put it in SELECT alongside an aggregate to bucket rows. When a date function appears in SELECT, it must also appear in GROUP BY:
SELECT CALENDAR_YEAR(CloseDate) yr, SUM(Amount) total
FROM Opportunity
GROUPBY CALENDAR_YEAR(CloseDate)
The date-literal comparison rule
A date function returns a number (or, for DAY_ONLY(), a Date). You cannot compare the result of a date function to a date literal in a WHERE clause. Compare to an integer instead:
-- CORRECT: compare to an integerWHERE CALENDAR_YEAR(CloseDate) =2026-- WRONG: compare to a date literal (ISO date or relative literal)WHERE CALENDAR_YEAR(CloseDate) =2026-01-01WHERE CALENDAR_MONTH(CloseDate) = THIS_MONTH
If your intent is a relative window (this fiscal year, last 90 days), you likely want a date literal on the raw field — WHERE CloseDate = THIS_FISCAL_YEAR — not a date function at all. That is a literal, not a function; it is out of scope here.
Common Patterns
Pattern: database-side period rollup
When to use: you need a total/count per year, quarter, or month and today you SELECT all rows and sum them in an Apex loop.
How it works: move the bucketing into SOQL with a date function in SELECT + GROUP BY, and read the results from AggregateResult:
for (AggregateResult ar : [
SELECT CALENDAR_QUARTER(CloseDate) qtr, SUM(Amount) total
FROM Opportunity
WHERE CloseDate = THIS_YEAR
GROUP BY CALENDAR_QUARTER(CloseDate)]) {
Integer quarter = (Integer) ar.get('qtr');
Decimal total = (Decimal) ar.get('total');
}
Why not the alternative: iterating every Opportunity to bucket by quarter pulls unbounded rows into heap and burns query rows; the grouped query returns one row per quarter and does the arithmetic in the database. See apex/apex-aggregate-queries for the AggregateResult/GROUP BY mechanics.
Pattern: period filter without aggregation
When to use: you just want the rows in a period (a fixed calendar year, a specific fiscal quarter) and no rollup.
How it works: put the date function in WHERE only — no GROUP BY needed:
SELECT Id, Name, Amount FROM Opportunity WHERE FISCAL_QUARTER(CloseDate) =3
Why not the alternative: people reach for a CloseDate >= :start AND CloseDate < :end range and hand-compute the boundaries. FISCAL_QUARTER(CloseDate) = 3 reads intent directly and follows the org's fiscal calendar — but only when standard fiscal years are in effect (see Gotchas).
Pattern: collapse a DateTime to a date bucket
When to use: you have a DateTime field (e.g. CreatedDate) and want to count per calendar day.
How it works:DAY_ONLY() strips the time and yields a Date you can group on:
SELECT DAY_ONLY(CreatedDate) d, COUNT(Id) c
FROMCaseGROUPBY DAY_ONLY(CreatedDate)
Why not the alternative: grouping on the raw DateTime produces one bucket per distinct instant (useless); DAY_ONLY() is dateTime-only and returns the date part so each calendar day is one row.
Decision Guidance
Situation
Recommended Approach
Reason
Keep only rows in a period, no rollup
Date function in WHERE, no GROUP BY
A date function filters without requiring aggregation
Total/count per period
Date function in SELECTandGROUP BY
A SELECT date function must appear in GROUP BY
"This year / last 90 days" relative window
Date literal on the raw field (WHERE CloseDate = THIS_YEAR)
Literals express rolling windows; a date function returns a number, not a window
Org has custom fiscal years enabled
Group by calendar functions or a fiscal formula field
FISCAL_* functions are unsupported under custom fiscal years
Need the date part of a DateTime
DAY_ONLY(dateTimeField)
Returns a Date; accepts only a DateTime field
Need hour-of-day distribution
HOUR_IN_DAY(dateTimeField)
Hour component; accepts only a DateTime field
Buckets must follow the user's local day
Wrap in convertTimezone(field) before the date function
SOQL evaluates the raw UTC instant otherwise
Recommended Workflow
Classify the need — filtering a period (→ WHERE only), rolling up per period (→ SELECT + GROUP BY), or a relative rolling window (→ a date literal, which is out of scope for this skill).
Pick the function by period and field type — calendar vs. fiscal; year/quarter/month/week/day/hour. Confirm the field is a DateTime before choosing DAY_ONLY() or HOUR_IN_DAY().
Check fiscal configuration — if you chose a FISCAL_* function, confirm the org does not have custom fiscal years enabled; if it does, switch to calendar functions or a fiscal formula field.
Write the clause correctly — compare a date-function result to an integer, never a date literal; if the function is in SELECT, repeat it verbatim in GROUP BY.
Decide time-zone basis — if buckets must follow local days rather than UTC, wrap the field in convertTimezone().
Validate — run scripts/check_soql_date_functions.py --query "<your SOQL>" (or --manifest-dir over a source tree) to catch date-literal comparisons and SELECT-without-GROUP BY mistakes.
Review Checklist
Run through these before marking work in this area complete:
Every date function in SELECT also appears, unchanged, in GROUP BY
No date-function result is compared to a date literal (ISO YYYY-MM-DD or a relative literal) in WHERE
DAY_ONLY() / HOUR_IN_DAY() are applied only to DateTime fields, not Date fields
FISCAL_MONTH/QUARTER/YEAR are not used if the org has custom fiscal years enabled
Time-zone intent is explicit — convertTimezone() wraps the field where local-day bucketing matters
A relative window ("this year", "last N days") uses a date literal on the raw field, not a date function
Salesforce-Specific Gotchas
Non-obvious platform behaviors that cause real production problems:
Comparing to a date literal is rejected — WHERE CALENDAR_YEAR(CloseDate) = 2026-01-01 fails; the function yields a number, so compare to the integer 2026. This surfaces at query compile time and often confuses developers who mix up date functions with date literals.
FISCAL_* silently unavailable under custom fiscal years — enabling custom (generic) fiscal years disables FISCAL_MONTH/QUARTER/YEAR. Code that worked in one org throws in another purely because of that org setting, not the query.
DAY_ONLY() / HOUR_IN_DAY() are DateTime-only — pointing them at a Date field (or a formula returning Date) errors; they exist specifically to extract from a DateTime.
UTC bucketing skews the "day" — date functions read the raw UTC value, so late-evening local records fall into the next UTC day/month/quarter unless you wrap the field in convertTimezone().
Output Artifacts
Artifact
Description
A grouped SOQL query
SELECT <dateFn>(field), <aggregate> ... GROUP BY <dateFn>(field) for period rollups read via AggregateResult
A filtered SOQL query
WHERE <dateFn>(field) = <integer> for period filtering with no aggregation
scripts/check_soql_date_functions.py output
A report of date-literal comparisons, SELECT-without-GROUP BY, and misspelled-function issues in your SOQL
Related Skills
apex/apex-aggregate-queries — owns the GROUP BY / ROLLUP / CUBE / HAVING / AggregateResult mechanics that date-function grouping plugs into; use it for the aggregation side.
apex/timezone-and-datetime-pitfalls — the UTC-vs-local-day nuance and convertTimezone() usage that decides which bucket a record lands in.
apex/soql-fundamentals — base SOQL clause structure, and SOQL relative date literals (TODAY, LAST_N_DAYS:n, THIS_FISCAL_YEAR), which are literals, not the functions this skill covers.
apex/soql-format-function-localization — FORMAT() for localized display of the numbers/dates these functions return.
