How to use the business days calculator
- Pick a mode. Count days between dates tells you how many working days fall between two dates. Add or subtract days turns “within 15 business days” into an actual date.
- Decide whether the start and end dates count. With both ticked, the result matches the NETWORKDAYS spreadsheet function. To count the days left before a deadline, untick the start date.
- Set the weekend to match how your client’s week works: Saturday and Sunday, Friday and Saturday, or Sunday only.
- Choose holiday calendars and add your own days off, such as a week of vacation or a client’s year-end shutdown.
Everything updates as you type. Copy the result as text for an email or proposal, or copy the link to send someone the exact calculation.
What counts as a business day?
A business day is a day when businesses normally operate: in most countries Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. “Working day” usually means the same thing. Two details cause most disagreements. The weekend is not the same everywhere, and holidays depend on whose calendar you use: a US government office, a US bank and a client in London will each skip different days in the same month.
If a contract says “business days” without saying whose, define it. One sentence does the job: “Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in England and Wales.”
How to calculate business days manually
Business days = calendar days − weekend days − holidays that fall on weekdays
Example: how many business days are there from Monday, November 2 to Monday, November 30, 2026, counting both dates and skipping US federal holidays?
- Calendar days: November 2 to 30 inclusive is 29 days.
- Weekend days: four Saturdays (7, 14, 21, 28) and four Sundays (8, 15, 22, 29), so 8.
- Weekday holidays: Veterans Day (Wednesday, November 11) and Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 26), so 2.
- Result: 29 − 8 − 2 = 19 business days.
A shortcut for long ranges: every full week has five weekdays. November 2 to 29 is exactly four weeks, so 20 weekdays; Monday the 30th makes 21; minus 2 holidays gives 19.
Adding works the same way. To find 10 business days after Friday, November 20, 2026, start counting on the next business day: Monday the 23rd is day 1, the 24th day 2, the 25th day 3, Thanksgiving is skipped, Friday the 27th is day 4, and so on until Monday, December 7 is day 10. Ten calendar days would have landed on Monday, November 30, a week earlier. The Friday after Thanksgiving is not a federal holiday, even though many businesses close; add it as a custom day off if your client does.
Business days vs calendar days in contracts, payment terms and shipping
- Payment terms. “Net 30” normally means 30 calendar days from the invoice date. Around the holidays the gap gets big: for an invoice dated Monday, November 16, 2026, 30 calendar days is Wednesday, December 16, while 30 US business days is Wednesday, December 30. If you mean business days, write “30 business days”.
- Response and review windows. Clauses like “the client has 5 business days to request revisions” are where business days matter most. Agree that counting starts the next business day, and whose time zone sets the end of the day.
- Shipping. “Ships in 3–5 business days” excludes weekends and carrier holidays, and orders placed after the daily cut-off usually start counting the next business day.
- Bank transfers. Payments move on bank business days. US banks follow the Federal Reserve calendar, which does not move Saturday holidays to Friday, so banks are open on some Fridays when federal offices are closed.
When a deadline counted in calendar days lands on a weekend or holiday, many contracts roll it to the next business day. Switch the calculator to calendar days and it shows that next business day for you.
How weekends and holidays differ by country
- Weekends. Saturday and Sunday is the norm in North America and Europe, but many countries in the Middle East and North Africa use Friday and Saturday, and some businesses work six days with only Sunday off.
- Holidays on weekends. The US observes a Saturday holiday on the Friday before and a Sunday holiday on the Monday after. The UK gives a substitute day, normally the next Monday, or the Tuesday when Christmas and Boxing Day both fall on a weekend. Canada’s federal holidays generally move to the next working day.
- Moving dates. Good Friday and Easter Monday follow Easter, which can fall anywhere from March 22 to April 25. Others follow patterns such as “last Monday in May”.
- Regional holidays. US states, Canadian provinces, Scotland and Northern Ireland add their own days. The presets cover national lists only, so add regional days as custom holidays.
Tips for freelancers
- Use your client’s calendar for their deadlines and your own for your delivery dates. A US client and a UK freelancer lose different days around Easter and Thanksgiving.
- Write the calculated date into the email or contract (“due Friday, December 18, 2026”) instead of “within 30 business days”. Nobody has to count, and nobody can count differently.
- Add your vacation and any client shutdown as custom days off before quoting a timeline for December or August.
- Planning capacity? Count the business days in the month and multiply by the hours you can bill per day. The hours field does it for you.
Frequently asked questions
How many business days are in a year?
With a Saturday and Sunday weekend, a year has 260 or 261 weekdays, and up to 262 in a leap year. Subtract the public holidays that fall on weekdays to get business days. For example, 2026 has 261 weekdays and 250 business days after the 11 US federal holidays.
Is Saturday a business day?
Not usually. Most businesses, banks and government offices treat Monday to Friday as business days and Saturday and Sunday as the weekend. Some industries, such as retail and shipping, work Saturdays, so a contract can define it differently. Tick or untick Saturday in the weekend settings to match.
Does the start date count when adding business days?
Not by the usual convention. 5 business days from a Monday means you start counting on Tuesday, so the fifth business day is the following Monday. This calculator and the WORKDAY spreadsheet function both work that way. In count mode you choose whether the start and end dates are included.
What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?
It depends on the country. US federal holidays on a Saturday are observed on the Friday before, and Sunday holidays on the Monday after. UK bank holidays move to a substitute weekday, usually the next Monday. The presets apply these rules automatically and show the actual date next to the observed one.
Are US bank holidays the same as federal holidays?
Almost. The list of days is the same, but when a holiday falls on a Saturday, federal offices close on the Friday while Federal Reserve banks stay open. When it falls on a Sunday, both close on Monday. Use the US banks preset for payment and transfer timing.
Does Net 30 mean 30 business days?
Usually not. Net 30 normally means payment is due 30 calendar days after the invoice date. If you want business days, say so on the invoice and in the contract, for example: payment due within 30 business days of the invoice date.
Why might a result differ from an official holiday calendar?
The presets are computed from each country's standing rules, so one-off holidays declared for special events, such as royal occasions, and state or provincial holidays are not included. Check the official calendar for the year you need and add any extra days as custom holidays.
Is my data saved or uploaded?
Your inputs and custom days off are saved in your browser's local storage so they are still there when you come back. Nothing is sent to a server. Use Reset to clear everything.