Spreadsheet formulas

Excel WORKDAY Formula Explained

A practical spreadsheet guide for working-day calculations.

Quick answer

Use Excel WORKDAY to add business days to a date and calculate a future working-day deadline.

=WORKDAY(start_date,days,holidays)

When to use this formula

Use it when you need a repeatable spreadsheet calculation for invoice due dates, project plans, payroll checks, support SLAs, or other weekday-based deadlines.

Common checks

  • Make sure your date cells are real dates, not text.
  • Keep public holidays in a separate list.
  • Confirm whether the start date should count.

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FAQs

What does WORKDAY do?

WORKDAY returns a date a chosen number of working days before or after a start date.

Does WORKDAY skip weekends?

Yes. It skips Saturdays and Sundays by default.

Can WORKDAY exclude holidays?

Yes. Add a holiday range as the optional third argument.