logo-v-light

Our Service

WORKDAY

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the WORKDAY function in Excel, which is a powerful tool for calculating workdays, taking into account weekends and holidays. The WORKDAY function is particularly useful for project management, scheduling, and planning tasks. We will cover the syntax, examples, tips and tricks, common mistakes, troubleshooting, and related formulae for the WORKDAY function.

WORKDAY Syntax

The WORKDAY function in Excel has the following syntax:

=WORKDAY(start_date, days, [holidays])

Where:

  • start_date is the starting date from which you want to calculate the workdays. This can be a date value, a cell reference, or a text string representing a date.
  • days is the number of workdays you want to add or subtract from the start_date. This can be a positive or negative integer.
  • [holidays] is an optional argument that represents a range of dates that should be excluded from the workdays calculation. These dates are treated as non-working days, in addition to the default weekends (Saturday and Sunday).

WORKDAY Examples

Let’s look at some examples of how to use the WORKDAY function in Excel:

Example 1: Calculate the end date of a project that starts on January 1, 2022, and has a duration of 10 workdays.

=WORKDAY(“1/1/2022”, 10)

This formula will return the date January 14, 2022, which is 10 workdays after the start date, excluding weekends.

Example 2: Calculate the end date of a project that starts on January 1, 2022, has a duration of 10 workdays, and includes a holiday on January 6, 2022.

=WORKDAY(“1/1/2022”, 10, “1/6/2022”)

This formula will return the date January 17, 2022, which is 10 workdays after the start date, excluding weekends and the specified holiday.

Example 3: Calculate the end date of a project that starts on January 1, 2022, has a duration of 10 workdays, and includes a range of holidays in cells A1:A3.

=WORKDAY(“1/1/2022”, 10, A1:A3)

This formula will return the end date of the project, taking into account the specified holidays in the range A1:A3.

WORKDAY Tips & Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to help you make the most of the WORKDAY function in Excel:

  1. Use the WORKDAY function in combination with other date functions, such as TODAY(), to calculate workdays based on the current date.
  2. If you need to calculate workdays with custom weekends (e.g., Friday and Saturday), use the WORKDAY.INTL function instead.
  3. When specifying holidays, you can use a range of cells, an array constant, or a combination of both.
  4. Remember that the WORKDAY function only considers whole workdays. If you need to calculate workdays with partial days, you may need to use a different approach.

Common Mistakes When Using WORKDAY

Here are some common mistakes to avoid when using the WORKDAY function:

  1. Not using a valid date format for the start_date argument. Excel may not recognize the date correctly if it is not in a valid format.
  2. Using a decimal value for the days argument. The WORKDAY function only considers whole workdays, so using a decimal value may result in an incorrect calculation.
  3. Forgetting to include holidays in the calculation. If you have specific non-working days, make sure to include them in the [holidays] argument.

Why Isn’t My WORKDAY Function Working?

If your WORKDAY function is not working as expected, consider the following troubleshooting steps:

  1. Check the format of your start_date argument. Make sure it is a valid date format that Excel can recognize.
  2. Ensure that the days argument is an integer value, not a decimal or text value.
  3. Verify that the [holidays] argument is correctly specified, either as a range of cells, an array constant, or a combination of both.
  4. If you are still having issues, consider using the Evaluate Formula tool in Excel to step through the calculation and identify any errors.

WORKDAY: Related Formulae

Here are some related formulae that you may find useful when working with the WORKDAY function:

  1. WORKDAY.INTL: This function calculates workdays with custom weekends and holidays. It has a similar syntax to the WORKDAY function but includes an additional argument for specifying the weekend days.
  2. NETWORKDAYS: This function calculates the number of workdays between two dates, excluding weekends and optionally holidays.
  3. NETWORKDAYS.INTL: This function calculates the number of workdays between two dates, with custom weekends and optionally holidays.
  4. TODAY: This function returns the current date, which can be used in combination with the WORKDAY function to calculate workdays based on the current date.
  5. EDATE: This function adds or subtracts a specified number of months to a given date, which can be useful for calculating deadlines or milestones in a project.

With this comprehensive guide, you should now have a solid understanding of the WORKDAY function in Excel, including its syntax, examples, tips and tricks, common mistakes, troubleshooting, and related formulae. Use the WORKDAY function to effectively manage your projects, schedules, and deadlines by calculating workdays with ease.

Related

Did you find this article useful?

Share it with your friends or colleagues

About Aepoch Advisors

We are a boutique accounting and consulting firm servicing international businesses operating in China. We offers book keeping and business advisory service. We also help our clients select and implement SAAS business applications. 
 
Cloud technology significantly reduces cost foreign companies traditionally spent on tax compliance and ERP systems. Our cloud professionals can help with streamlining your management and controling structure, as well as advising you on how to reduce risks and maximize profits with software purposely built for Chinese business. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
Learn More