help with date comparisons

[RyanBourbon1]

Hello,

I am trying to create a flow that will run daily and check a date for each row in a SharePoint List.  If the date in the column matches todays date I will have it send an email.  I am getting hung up on how to do the date comparison.  My column is formatted as a date already in a MM/dd/yyyy configuration and I am using utcNow() for todays date.  I have included screenshots of the flow as well as how I have the conditional set up.  Any help would be appreciated, including any debugging techniques as telling me it is false without any details as to why is not very helpful.  Thanks!

[creativeopinion · Accepted solution]

@RyanBourbon1 Looping through every single item with an Apply to Each action and running a condition check on each item you loop through is inefficient. Instead, you should use the Filter Query in the Get Items action.

You will need to use the internal column name of your date column. Keep in mind that the internal column name may not always match the name displayed in your Sharepoint list. If you aren't sure how to get the Internal Column name, you can refer to this section of one of my YT Tutorials.

Not sure how to write a filter query? Check out this YT short.

Return Item Count

Whenever I use a Filter Query in a Get Items action, I always like to return the count of items returned in a Compose action. This is helpful when building a flow and can also be used to troubleshoot your flow.

Insert a Compose action. Add an Expression. Use the length() function.

Select the Dynamic content tab and insert the value dynamic content from the Get Items action into the length() function.

Run a test.

Condition Check

Add a Condition action to your flow. If items have returned (aka there is number stored in the Compose action—that is not equal to 0), add the rest of your actions to the Yes branch. If not, do nothing.

You might find these tutorials helpful: 

For more flow troubleshooting tips—check out this YT Tutorial: 5 Power Automate Troubleshooting FAQs and Helpful Tips for Creating Better Flows

In this Power Automate tutorial, I explore 5 frequently asked questions that pop up when troubleshooting a flow. If you’d like to to level up your Power Automate flow skills and learn how to troubleshoot your Power Automate flow—this tutorial is for you!

IN THIS VIDEO:

✅ How to troubleshoot a false Condition action result

✅ How to get dynamic content when it isn’t selectable from the list of dynamic content

✅ How to troubleshoot an Apply to Each action that isn’t looping through

✅ How to troubleshoot a skipped Apply to Each action

✅ How to troubleshoot a Filter Query

✅ How to use a SharePoint yes/no column in a Filter Query

✅ How to use Compose actions to troubleshoot a Power Automate flow

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple emails being sent

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple Teams messages being sent

--

You might find my tutorial helpful: Send Emails Based on a 📆 Date Column in SharePoint with Microsoft Power Automate

In this Microsoft Power Automate tutorial, I’ll show you how to build a flow that will send a Happy Birthday email to a user based on a date column in a SharePoint list. The SharePoint list also contains a column with a Manager’s name which we’ll use to send a three-day and day of reminder to the user’s manager.

This automation will use the Filter Array action to filter out all SharePoint list items where the user’s birthday is today or in three days. This flow can apply to a variety of scenarios such as:

📅 Student Birthdays

📅 Project Due Dates

📅 Contract/Membership Renewals

📅 License Expirations

📅 Client Anniversaries

---

IN THIS VIDEO:

✅ How to Send an Email based on a Date Column in SharePoint

✅ Using the Recurrence Trigger in Power Automate

✅How to Use the Filter Array Action with multiple conditions

✅ How to Get Dynamic Content from a Filter Array Action

✅How to Get a Date Three Days from Today

✅ How to Create a Dynamic Date Based on utcNow()

✅ How to Return a Count of Items

✅ How to initialize and set a variable

✅ How to use the Send an Email (V2) action

✅ How to send test emails

Hope this helps!

If I helped you solve your problem—please mark my post as a solution ✅.
Consider giving me a 👍 if you liked my response!

👉 Level up your Power Automate skills by checking out my tutorials on YouTube
👉 Tips and Tricks on TikTok and Instagram

[RyanBourbon1]

This was incredibly detailed and exactly what I was looking for.  I appreciate the time you took to put this together.  Thanks!

[RyanBourbon1]

While I have followed this tutorial, I seem to be running into issues with using the column I want because it is a calculated column.  Is there a way to use this column?  Thanks.

[creativeopinion]

@RyanBourbon1 You can't use a calculated column in the filter query field. I would recommend using date columns in your SP list and calculating the appropriate date(s) based on those columns instead. 

[RyanBourbon1]

Thanks for the tip.  So if I understand correctly, I will then have a formula in the query that says if the date in the column I am looking at plus the added frequency of occurrence from another column is equal to todays date then use the information from other columns to compose an email?

[creativeopinion]

@RyanBourbon1 Yes that's correct. Depending on your workflow and whether or not you update this date on a yearly basis—you may need to use a Filter Array action. For example if your SP list stored something like an employee start date and/or birthdate—you wouldn't be able to check if that date is equal to today (because of the year). However, if the date gets updated each time an email is sent out—then you could use the Filter Query field. Hope I'm making sense.

You can refer to this tutorial: Send Emails Based on a 📆 Date Column in SharePoint with Microsoft Power Automate

Hope this helps!

If I helped you solve your problem—please mark my post as a solution ✅.
Consider giving me a 👍 if you liked my response!

👉 Level up your Power Automate skills by checking out my tutorials on YouTube
👉 Tips and Tricks on TikTok and Instagram

[RyanBourbon1]

Hmm, this might present a challenge then.  Basically I have a list of reoccurring tasks with a date of last occurrence based on the email being sent out along with a frequency of reoccurrence.  the calculated column is the last occurrence plus the frequency to equal the next inspection date and my thought was to have a flow that checks the date and if it is the same as today then send a message to the identified recipient.  Sounds like my logic will not work with the method of approach due to the limitations of power automate.  I find myself often running into these types of issues with power automate, like learning to program has made it so that my logic doesn't work within this low code environment.  Do you have any suggestions on a better approach?  I really appreciate the input you have provided by the way :). 

[creativeopinion]

@RyanBourbon1 No worries. One way to approach this is to have two date columns. One for the last occurrence and one for the next. Simply update both columns after the email has been sent. Or if you prefer you can have a column for Email Sent On and Next Occurrence. You'll just need a column that stores the date when you want the flow to send an email.

If you run into any additional issues with the flow pls post a new topic—since this one has already been marked solved.