Excel WORKDAY Function: add working days to a date

“Delivered in 5 working days” — from Thursday that’s not Tuesday but next Thursday, if there’s a holiday in between. WORKDAY does that maths.

The formula

=WORKDAY(start_date, days, [holidays])

The result is a date serial number — format the cell as a date (Ctrl+1 › Date).

Example

=WORKDAY(A2,5)

From Thursday 1 Oct 2026, 5 working days is Thursday 8 Oct. With Gandhi Jayanti (Fri 2 Oct) as a holiday it becomes Friday 9 Oct:

=WORKDAY(A2,5,$H$2:$H$10)

Going backwards

=WORKDAY(A2,-3)

3 working days before — useful for “send the reminder 3 days before the deadline”.

Next working day

If a date falls on a weekend, move it to Monday: =WORKDAY(A2-1,1).

Other weekends: WORKDAY.INTL

=WORKDAY.INTL(A2,5,11,$H$2:$H$10)

Weekend code 11 = only Sunday off. 7 = Friday and Saturday. Full table in NETWORKDAYS.

Calendar days instead

Just add: =A2+30. Months: EDATE.

How many working days between two dates?

That’s the reverse question: NETWORKDAYS. All date tools: date formulas.