How to add business days to a date in Excel
Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)
=WORKDAY(B2,C2,$F$2:$F$4)Use =WORKDAY(start, days, holidays). It skips Saturdays, Sundays and every date in the holiday list.
- Result on the example
- one result per row in
D2, filled down toD6 - Works in
- Every current version
- Google Sheets
- Same formula
See it work
The formula is already in D2, filled down to D6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.
How it works
WORKDAY counts forward the given number of working days, skipping weekends and any date in the holiday list. The start date itself isn't counted: a ticket opened on Friday, November 20 with a 5-day SLA is due Tuesday, December 1, because Thanksgiving and the day after are holidays.
=WORKDAY(B2,C2,$F$2:$F$4)Result12/1/2026 (46357)
B211/20/2026The value in B2.
C25The value in C2.
$F$2:$F$43 rows × 1 col: 11/26/2026, 11/27/2026, 12/25/2026A range: 3 cells in one column.
WORKDAY(B2,C2,$F$2:$F$4)12/1/2026 (46357)WORKDAY: Date a number of workdays away.- start_date
B211/20/2026 - days
C25 - holidays
$F$2:$F$43 rows × 1 col: 11/26/2026, 11/27/2026, 12/25/2026
- start_date
In Google Sheets
The same formula works in Google Sheets: =WORKDAY(B2,C2,$F$2:$F$4). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.
Other ways to do it
Each one was run on the same example sheet.
| Formula | Result | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| =WORKDAY(B2,C2) | 11/27/2026, 11/26/2026, 12/25/2026…Different result | Without a holiday list, only weekends are skipped. Treats holidays as working days. |
Common mistakes
- WORKDAY doesn't count the start date. If the start date is day 1, use
=WORKDAY(B2,C2-1,$F$2:$F$4). - For another weekend, such as Friday and Saturday, use WORKDAY.INTL with a weekend code.
- Lock the holiday range with $ so it stays put when the formula is filled down.
Try it yourself
Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.
Add business days to a date
D2, add the SLA business days to the date the ticket was opened, skipping weekends and the holidays in F2:F4. Fill down to D6.Questions
How do I go back a number of business days?
Use a negative number: =WORKDAY(B2,-5,$F$2:$F$4).
How do I count the business days between two dates?
Use NETWORKDAYS, which counts both ends: =NETWORKDAYS(B2,D2,$F$2:$F$4).
Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.