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Critical: Elementum’s platform assumes all dates are in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). Incorrect timezone handling can cause display inconsistencies across your platform.

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UTC Standard

Elementum’s platform uses UTC as the foundation of our date/time handling strategy:

Database Storage

All timestamps stored in Elementum’s databases are in UTC

API Communications

All API communications use UTC for consistency

UI Display

UI displays convert UTC to the user’s local timezone for presentation

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External Data Integration

When importing data from external sources like Snowflake:

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Requirements for Date/Time Fields

1

Use UTC Format

All date/time values should be in UTC format
2

Avoid Mixed Formats

Data imported with mixed timezone formats will cause display inconsistencies
3

Proper Conversion

Local timezone dates without proper UTC conversion will display incorrectly

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Common Issues

The most frequent issue occurs when:
  • ❌ Some date fields contain UTC timestamps
  • ❌ Other date fields contain local timezone timestamps
  • ❌ All are treated as UTC by the platform
  • ❌ UI displays show incorrect times for users in different timezones
Example: For a user in EDT (UTC-4):
# Correct behavior
True UTC timestamp: 14:00 → Displays as: 10:00 ✓

# Incorrect behavior  
Local EDT timestamp: 14:00 → Displays as: 10:00 ✗
# Should display as: 14:00

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Best Practices

1. Store All Timestamps in UTC

  • Convert any local timestamps to UTC before importing
  • Include timezone offset information if available

2. Standardize Date Formats

  • Use ISO 8601 format when possible (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ)
  • Ensure consistency across all data sources

3. Snowflake Configuration

  • Configure all date columns to use UTC timezone
  • Convert any local timestamps during ETL processes
  • Don’t mix UTC and local timezone values in the same dataset

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Troubleshooting

If dates appear incorrect in the Elementum UI, follow these steps:
1

Verify Original Data

Check the original timestamps in your data source (e.g., Snowflake)
2

Check Consistency

Verify that timestamps are consistently in UTC format
3

Convert Data

Convert any non-UTC timestamps to UTC in the data source
4

Re-import

Re-import the data after standardization