Reformat and Compare Dates with the Date/Time Formatter

Dates arrive in all sorts of shapes: a spreadsheet may want one layout, an email another, and a webhook may send a third. The Date/Time Formatter action converts them into the form you need and can also tell you how many days separate two dates.

Three modes

• Format Date: change a date, such as 2025-12-09, into another layout.
• Format Date-Time: change both date and time, such as 2025-12-09 15:48.
• Compare Dates: return the number of days between a start and an end date.

Configure a format

1. Add the action in Automation > Workflows and pick a mode.
2. Under Field Selection, choose the source. Options include a specific date, the current date, a contact date field, an appointment start or end, a custom value, or data from an inbound webhook.
3. Check the From Format. For system fields it is detected automatically. For custom values and webhook data, choose the format that matches the incoming text.
4. Choose the To Format from the list.
5. Save.

Contact custom fields currently support dates but not date-and-time values.

Compare two dates

Choose a Start Date and End Date, each with its own format. The result is end minus start, so you get a negative number if the start is later.

Use the result downstream

The output is stored as a dynamic variable, such as {{datetime_formatter.1.date}} or {{datetime_formatter.1.datetime}}, where the number is the action's position among formatters. Insert it in emails, texts, field updates, or If/Else conditions.

Handy examples

• Show an appointment date as "December 9" in a reminder text.
• Compare today's date with an invoice due date and send a reminder when it is within three days.
• Convert webhook timestamps before writing them into Google Sheets.

Good to know: If the output looks wrong, the From Format is almost always mismatched; reselect it to match the incoming text exactly.