In short

  • State whether the start and end dates count.
  • Define the weekend before subtracting holidays.
  • Use the calendar required by the governing country, region, employer or contract.

How do I count business days without a spreadsheet?

Use the free CalcQuick workday calculator linked above; no account is required. In range mode, enter the start and end dates, choose the non-working weekdays, select a federal or nationwide holiday preset if it applies, and enter any additional closure dates. The result separates workdays from excluded weekend days and weekday holidays.

Worked example: ten calendar days become seven workdays

Count Monday 24 August through Wednesday 2 September 2026, including both endpoints. Select Saturday and Sunday as weekends, choose no holiday preset, and add 2026-08-28 as a hypothetical company closure.

  • The inclusive range contains 10 calendar days.
  • Saturday 29 August and Sunday 30 August remove 2 days.
  • The example company closure on Friday 28 August removes 1 more day.
  • 10 − 2 − 1 = 7 business days. Adding 29 August to the custom holidays would not remove another day because it is already a weekend.

What date is five business days after a Monday?

With Saturday and Sunday excluded and no holidays, five business days after Monday 24 August 2026 is Monday 31 August. Leave the base-date option off: Tuesday 25 is day 1, Wednesday 26 is day 2, Thursday 27 is day 3, Friday 28 is day 4 and Monday 31 is day 5. If Friday 28 is a company closure, the answer moves to Tuesday 1 September.

Decide whether endpoints count

“Between dates” can be ambiguous. CalcQuick includes both endpoints by default when they are workdays, and the option can be turned off to exclude both. State the rule whenever a deadline or contract depends on the result.

Define the weekend

Saturday and Sunday are selected by default, but not every organization uses that schedule. Mark the weekdays your calendar treats as non-working so the same rule applies to both range counts and date shifts.

Read the date-range breakdown

The evaluated calendar-day total follows the endpoint setting. Weekend exclusions use the weekdays you selected, and holiday exclusions count only holidays that fall on an otherwise eligible weekday. This prevents a weekend holiday from being subtracted twice.

Add or subtract workdays

Use the date-shift mode to find a due date a whole number of workdays before or after a base date. The base date is not counted by default; enable the day-one option when your process explicitly includes it.

Add the holidays that apply

Holiday calendars vary by country, state, city, employer and industry. Enter applicable dates in YYYY-MM-DD format, separated by commas. A holiday on an already excluded weekend does not reduce the total again.

A public holiday and its observed day off can be different dates. Verify the calendar your organization uses and add any missing observed closure date. CalcQuick presets cover recurring federal or nationwide rules, not every local, employer-specific, one-off or historical exception. The breakdown shows exclusion totals rather than a list of every excluded date.

Check deadline rules

Legal, banking, payroll and delivery deadlines may define a business day differently. Confirm the governing rule before relying on a general calendar calculation.

Sources

These primary or official references support the formulas, definitions or scope used in this guide.