# Date formats

> Choose how dates appear in your app, and set a consistent organization format for documents, emails, printouts, and readable exports.

Source: https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/date-formats/

Choose a date format for your own screens while keeping the dates your business sends to customers and suppliers consistent.

## Choose your personal format

1. Go to **Settings → Account**.
2. Find **Date Format** and choose a format, or **Use organization default**.
3. Click **Save Date Format**.

Your choice applies to dates and date entry in the app across your organizations and devices. It does not change another team member’s preference or your organization’s documents.

**Use organization default** follows the organization you are currently working in. If you switch organizations, your screens follow the new organization’s format. The option shows the organization’s format and an example. Choosing a specific personal format keeps that format across all of them.

## Set the organization format

An **Admin** sets the shared format:

1. Switch to the organization you want to configure.
2. Go to **Settings → Organization**.
3. Under **Regional Preferences**, choose **Date Format**.
4. Click **Save Changes**.

The organization format applies to newly generated business documents, date placeholders in business emails, PDF and print output, and human-readable spreadsheet exports. It also sets the app format for teammates who choose **Use organization default**.

The initial organization format follows the country selected during setup: **MM/DD/YYYY** for the United States, **DD/MM/YYYY** for the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the EU, and **YYYY/MM/DD** for Canada, Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. Other supported countries use their regional order. Without a selected country, the default is **DD/MM/YYYY**. An Admin can choose any of the available formats in **Organization → Regional Preferences**. Changing the country later keeps the saved format unless you choose **Use Country Defaults**.

## Available formats

The examples below all represent **13 October 2026**.

| Choice          | Example        | Meaning                            |
| --------------- | -------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| **MMM D, YYYY** | `Oct 13, 2026` | Abbreviated month name, day, year. |
| **MM/DD/YYYY**  | `10/13/2026`   | Month, day, year.                  |
| **DD/MM/YYYY**  | `13/10/2026`   | Day, month, year.                  |
| **YYYY/MM/DD**  | `2026/10/13`   | Year, month, day.                  |

Type dates in the selected format or choose a date from the calendar. You can also paste an unambiguous date such as `2026-10-13`. Changing the format changes how a date looks, not which calendar day it represents.

## Which setting applies where?

| Where you see the date                                                         | Setting used                                                                         |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| App pages, date fields, filters, tables, and live reports                      | Your personal choice, or the active organization’s format if you follow its default. |
| Generated invoices, quotes, receipts, statements, and other business documents | Organization format.                                                                 |
| Date placeholders in business email previews, sends, and automatic reminders   | Organization format when the email is composed.                                      |
| PDF and print output, including browser printing of live reports               | Organization format.                                                                 |
| Readable report and organization spreadsheet exports                           | Organization format.                                                                 |
| Published report snapshots                                                     | The format saved when the report was published.                                      |

Choose Excel when the display matters

Excel workbooks keep dates as date cells with a display format. CSV files have no date-cell formatting, so Excel or another spreadsheet app may interpret them using its own regional settings when opened.

## What stays in its original format?

* **Uploaded files and stored PDFs** are not rewritten when a preference changes.
* **Already composed or sent emails** keep their original content. Retrying a queued email does not restyle it.
* **Published report snapshots** keep their saved presentation.
* **Imports** use the source file’s format. Confirm the file’s date order when asked rather than assuming it matches your personal preference.
* **JSON backups, integrations, and files intended for re-import** keep their prescribed date formats. Dates exchanged through the public API keep the `YYYY-MM-DD` form, such as `2026-10-13`.

The organization’s [timezone](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/settings/#regional-preferences) determines what counts as today and when scheduled work runs. Date format is a separate choice: neither setting shifts an existing invoice or transaction to a different day.

## Worked example: different preferences, consistent invoices

Your organization chooses **DD/MM/YYYY**, while you choose **MM/DD/YYYY** on your account. For an invoice dated **5 June 2026**:

* You see `06/05/2026` in the app.
* A teammate following the organization default sees `05/06/2026`.
* The newly generated invoice PDF and email date placeholders show `05/06/2026`, regardless of which teammate sends it.

Everyone is working with the same invoice date; only its presentation differs.