How to use the business days calculator
- Enter the Start date and End date. If they are the wrong way round, the tool swaps them and says so.
- Keep Count the start and end dates themselves ticked to include both ends, or untick it to count only the days in between.
- Choose your Weekend: Saturday and Sunday, Friday and Saturday, Sunday only, or Friday only.
- Optionally list Holidays to skip, one date per line, such as
2026-12-25. - Read Business days, then the calendar days counted, the weekend days and holidays removed, and the total in working weeks.
What it does and when to use it
Contracts, invoices and government services often set limits in working days: “payment within 30 business days”, “processing takes 10 working days”, “notice must be given 5 days before”. This calculator gives the real count for a period, so you can check whether a deadline was met or how many working days a project has.
To find the date that is a set number of working days away, use add or subtract days with the unit set to Business days. For the full calendar gap in years, months and days, use the date difference calculator. The weekday counter counts a single weekday, such as every Tuesday in a term.
How it works
The tool counts the calendar days in the range, subtracts every weekend day it contains, then subtracts each listed holiday that is inside the range and on a working day. Each weekend day is counted with a short formula rather than by walking day by day, so long ranges are instant. Dates are plain calendar days without times, so your time zone and daylight saving have no effect.
Worked examples
A Sunday-to-Thursday month. November 2026 with a Friday–Saturday weekend: 30 calendar days, 8 weekend days and Business days: 22, or 4.4 working weeks.
First quarter of 2027 with holidays. From 4 January to 31 March 2027 with a Saturday–Sunday weekend. The holiday list holds 18 January, 15 February, 20 February and a stray line “not a date”. The 20 February entry is a Saturday, so only two holidays count: Holidays excluded: 2, leaving 61 business days. The stray line is listed in a warning and ignored.
Dates entered backwards. Start 31 December, end 1 December 2026, Sunday-only weekend. The tool reports The end date was before the start date, so the two were swapped. and counts 27 business days out of 31.
Limits and tips
- Half days and shift patterns are not supported; every working day counts as one.
- Each holiday line must be a full date. Commas or semicolons also work as separators, and repeated dates count once.
- Dates run from year 1 to 9999.
Frequently asked questions
Does it match Excel's NETWORKDAYS?
Which public holidays does it know?
What if a holiday falls on a weekend?
My working week is Sunday to Thursday. Which weekend do I pick?
Why is "Working weeks" sometimes a fraction?
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