Using basic as crude example let DateMY$ as string be your shorthand Date just a string of characters in sequence eg "June 2020" or "06.20" or 06/2020" for any calls or functions requiring date type data for calculations have the code do a quick string build by padding the string "01" to existing date string "01"& DateMY$=DateDMY$ printing DateDMY$ should read 01 June 2020, 01.06.20 or 01/06/2020 then declaring your format eg dd/mm/yyyy etc you should be able to get the code to read the val(DateDMY$) as date() type to do as you wish. Iv used several old code language that was just stubborn like that. Being you can do all this invisibly the end user would be none the wiser and treated as a string probably has it perceived as compatible with wider range of Code, platforms, OS operating systems. Logic for my variables declared. Given your initial date value 03.2020 make date string var as Date with Month Year DateMY$ the $ always been a old string symbol. Final date string DateDMY$ same as 1st but with ad D for day.