Your client has a delivery deadline of fifteen working days from the order and wants the exact date, not counting weekends or the two holidays in that stretch.
How to use Working Days Formula step by step
1. Choose the calculation
Workdays between two dates, the date after N working days, the same count with holidays or with a different weekend, the last day of the month or adding months.
2. Give the dates
Type the cells holding the dates and, if you skip holidays, the range where you list them. Every holiday must be a real date.
3. Copy and format
Paste the formula. If the result is a date, give the cell date format; if it is a number of days, number format.
The Step Count: Traditional Friction vs. KorexTools
Counting workdays on a calendar (4 steps)
- Open a calendar of the month.
- Strike out Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
- Count the days left.
- Repeat for each order or deadline.
With the KorexTools “Working Days Formula” builder (3 steps)
- You choose whether to count days or find a date.
- You give dates and holidays.
- You copy the formula and apply date format.
Subtracting two dates counts every day, and a working deadline counts only some
If you subtract two dates, Excel counts Saturdays and Sundays. NETWORKDAYS counts only the working days between two dates, both ends included, and accepts a range of holidays to take off. WORKDAY goes the other way: given a date and a number of working days, it returns the date the deadline ends.
Not every country rests on Saturday and Sunday. The INTL variants let you choose which days are the weekend, for instance Friday and Saturday or Sunday only. To add whole months there is EDATE, and for the accounting close EOMONTH returns the last day of the month of any date.
Which function to use
- •How many working days between two dates?: NETWORKDAYS.
- •When does an N-working-day deadline end?: WORKDAY.
- •Do you rest on other days?: the INTL variants.
From 1 to 31 October 2026, with the 1st in A2 and the 31st in B2
| Question | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Working days in the month | =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) | 22 |
| Date after 10 working days | =WORKDAY(A2,10) | 15 October 2026 |
| Last day of the month | =EOMONTH(A2,0) | 31 October 2026 |
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- ⚠️Typing the holidays as text rather than as dates.
- ⚠️Using date subtraction for working deadlines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does NETWORKDAYS count the start and end day?
Yes, both ends are included if they are working days. To exclude the first day, add one to the start date inside the formula.
How do I take off the holidays?
Type the holidays as real dates in a range and choose the option with holidays. If they are text, Excel ignores them and the count comes out one day too high.
What if my working week is not Monday to Friday?
Use the variants with a different weekend: you choose which days are rest days and the formula uses NETWORKDAYS.INTL or WORKDAY.INTL.
What I would do if I were in your shoes
«A deadline in working days without a holiday list is an estimate, not a date.» — DataKorex Engineering Team.