How to Insert Current Time with NOW Function in Google Sheets

In this article, you will learn how to insert a current time in a cell automatically by using the NOW function in Google Sheets. The NOW formula shows the current date and time. For example, It is beneficial when you need to record time and date during the data collection process.

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How to use the NOW formula in Google Sheets

1. Select a cell you want to show the date and time.
2. Type “=NOW()” or navigate to “Insert” → “Function” → “Date” → “NOW”.
3. Done - You don’t need to input any argument for this formula.

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Look at how you can use the formula practically. Assume you need to collect some data with its collection date and time. 

1. Insert the NOW function in a cell.
2. Prepare the table to organize the data, make cells for data input blank, and fill cells for date and time by the absolute reference to the cell containing the NOW formula, as shown in the picture below.
3. When you collect data next time, once you input the data in cell B7, which is surrounded by green lines, you can make a date and time in cell C7, enclosed by red lines, a value by special paste functions (value only and format only)

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Note:

1. We used the default formatting of the NOW function, but you can change it by using the “Custom date and time” formatting. (“Format” → “Number” → “Custom date and time”)
2. If you don’t need time recording, you can use the TODAY function instead.

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Other formulas related to date and time

If you don’t get the correct answer to your question in this article or have other questions related to date and/or time, you may find the answers in the following articles.

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Formulas related to dates

How to Use EDATE Function in Google Sheets - understand a date before/after a specific number of days

DAYS Function in Google Sheets: Explained - calculate the number of days between the two dates

WORKDAY Function in Google Sheets: Explained - show the ending date based on inputs of specific starting date and the number of working days, excluding holidays

NETWORKDAYS Function in Google Sheets: Explained - calculate the number of working days between two dates, excluding holidays

EOMONTH Function in Google Sheets: Explained - understand an end date of a month

DATEVALUE Function in Google Sheets: Explained - convert a date into a serial number

YEAR Function in Google Sheets: Explained - extract the year from a given date

MONTH Function in Google Sheets: Explained - the month from a given date

DAY Function in Google Sheets: Explained - the day from a given date

DATE Function in Google Sheets: Explained - create a date value based on year, month and day input

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You can learn about other Google Sheets formulas and tips that are not mentioned here on this page: LiveFlow‘s How to Guides

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Analyze your live financial data in a snap

Are you learning this formula to visualize financial data, build a financial model, or conduct financial analysis? In that case, LiveFlow may help you automate manual workflows and update numbers in real-time. You can access various financial templates on our website, from the simple Income Statement to Multi-Currency Consolidated Financial Statement. You can also customize these templates as you want without breaking the automated data inflow.

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