MakeDate(Year, Month, 1)

MakeDate and MakeTime in Power BI

MakeDate(YYYY, MM, DD) maps directly to DAX DATE(y, m, d) and Power Query #date(y, m, d). MakeTime maps to TIME() and #time(). Watch out for invalid input. DAX DATE rolls over, so month 13 becomes January of the next year, while Power Query #date raises an error.

Direct equivalent DAX Power Query

Short answer: Use DATE(T[Year], T[Month], 1) in DAX or #date([Year], [Month], 1) in M. For first-of-month keys, prefer building the date in Power Query.

What it does in Qlik

MakeDate(YYYY [, MM [, DD]]) returns a date, with month and day defaulting to 1.
MakeTime(hh [, mm [, ss]]) returns a time.
MakeWeekDate(YYYY [, WW [, D]]) builds a date from a year and week.

Qlik example

Qlik script

MakeDate(FiscalYear, PeriodNo, 1) AS PeriodStart,
MakeTime(Hour, Minute)            AS SlotTime

Power BI equivalent

DAX

Period Start = DATE ( T[FiscalYear], T[PeriodNo], 1 )
Slot Time    = TIME ( T[Hour], T[Minute], 0 )

Power Query

Power Query M

= Table.AddColumn(T, "PeriodStart", each #date([FiscalYear], [PeriodNo], 1), type date)
= Table.AddColumn(T, "SlotTime", each #time([Hour], [Minute], 0), type time)

Gotchas and behaviour differences

#date fails on invalid parts, such as day 31 in April, while DAX DATE silently rolls over to the next month. A DAX-built date that looks one month off usually traces back to this.
Year/month text columns ("2026", "03") must be converted to numbers first, with Number.From in M or VALUE in DAX.

Official documentation

makedate - script and chart function (Qlik Help)
DATE function (DAX) (Microsoft Learn)
#date (Power Query M) (Microsoft Learn)
TIME function (DAX) (Microsoft Learn)

Date(Date#(text, 'YYYYMMDD'), 'DD-MM-YYYY') Date#() parsing and Date() formatting Date#() interprets text as a date and Date() formats a number as a date, keeping it a dual. In Power BI, parse in Power Query with Date.FromText and set the display format on the column. DAX FORMAT() turns a date into text. Partial / different approach MonthStart(date [, period_no]) MonthStart, MonthEnd and period boundaries MonthStart and MonthEnd return the first or last millisecond of a month. Use Date.StartOfMonth and Date.EndOfMonth in Power Query, or EOMONTH in DAX. Note that STARTOFMONTH in DAX is a table function, not the same thing. Direct equivalent LOAD ... AUTOGENERATE ... WHILE ... IterNo() Master calendar (date table) The Qlik master calendar script maps to a date table built in Power Query (List.Dates) or DAX (CALENDAR), marked as a date table and related to the fact date. It is essential for every time-intelligence function. Direct equivalent

Spotted an error or a better pattern? QlikToDax is maintained by a working BI consultant; corrections are welcome via the About page. Last reviewed 2026-10-25.