WORKDAY NETWORKDAYS and Working Days Practice Questions with Solutions

Introduction

Working-day calculations are useful when weekends should not be counted in a project, delivery, employee, or business schedule. Excel provides WORKDAY and NETWORKDAYS for these situations. WORKDAY helps calculate a future or previous working date, while NETWORKDAYS counts working days between two dates. In this chapter, you will practice both functions with different examples, including custom weekends and holidays. WORKDAY, NETWORKDAYS and Working Days Practice questions with solutions to help you understand the concepts.

Question 1: Find the Date After 5 Working Days

Problem Statement

A project starts on Monday, 28 September 2026. Find the date after 5 working days.

Excel Data

Solution

In C2, enter:

=WORKDAY(A2,B2)

Expected Output

WORKDAY skips Saturday and Sunday automatically.

Question 2: Calculate Multiple Delivery Dates

Problem Statement

A company promises delivery a certain number of working days after each order date.

Calculate the expected delivery date.

Excel Data

Solution

In C2, enter:

=WORKDAY(A2,B2)

Copy the formula down.

Expected Output

Question 3: Find the Number of Working Days Between Two Dates

Problem Statement

Calculate the number of working days between a project start date and completion date.

Excel Data

Solution

In C2, enter:

=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)

Copy down.

Expected Output

NETWORKDAYS includes both the start and end date when they are working days.

Question 4: Calculate Working Days Excluding Holidays

Problem Statement

A company considers the following dates as holidays:

• 02/10/2026
• 20/10/2026

Calculate the working days between each project’s start and end dates while excluding these holidays.

Holiday Data

Project Data

Solution

Assume the holiday dates are in F2:F3.

In C2, enter:

=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,$F$2:$F$3)

Copy down.

Expected Output

The $ signs keep the holiday range fixed when the formula is copied.

Question 5: Calculate a Project Completion Date with Holidays

Problem Statement

A project starts on 28 September 2026 and requires 10 working days. The company has two holidays:

• 02/10/2026
• 05/10/2026

Find the expected completion date.

Excel Data

Holiday Data

Solution

Assume holidays are in E2:E3.

In C2, enter:

=WORKDAY(A2,B2,$E$2:$E$3)

Expected Output

WORKDAY skips both weekends and the listed holidays.

Question 6: Calculate Previous Working Date

Problem Statement

A report was generated on a particular date. Find the working date 5 working days earlier.

Excel Data

Solution

In C2, enter:

=WORKDAY(A2,-B2)

Copy down.

Expected Output

A negative number in WORKDAY moves backward.

Question 7: Use NETWORKDAYS in Excel for Employee Attendance

Problem Statement

Calculate the number of working days an employee was scheduled to work during each period.

Excel Data

Solution

In D2, enter:

=NETWORKDAYS(B2,C2)

Copy down.

Expected Output

This can be useful for attendance and payroll-related calculations.

Question 8: Use WORKDAY.INTL for a Different Weekend

Problem Statement

A business operates six days a week and is closed only on Sunday.

Calculate the date after 5 working days.

Excel Data

Solution

Use WORKDAY.INTL because the weekend pattern is different from Saturday-Sunday.

In C2, enter:

=WORKDAY.INTL(A2,B2,11)

Copy down.

Here, weekend code 11 means Sunday only.

Expected Output

Question 9: Count Working Days with a Custom Weekend

Problem Statement

A company operates from Sunday to Thursday and is closed on Friday and Saturday.

Calculate the number of working days between the given dates.

Excel Data

Solution

Use NETWORKDAYS.INTL.

In C2, enter:

=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(A2,B2,7)

Copy down.

Weekend code 7 means Friday and Saturday.

Expected Output

Question 10: Complete Project Deadline Calculation

Problem Statement

You are managing multiple projects.

For each project:

1. Start with the project start date.
2. Add the required working days.
3. Exclude company holidays.
4. Calculate the final deadline.

Company Holidays

Project Data

Solution

Assume the holiday dates are in F2:F4.

In D2, enter:

=WORKDAY(B2,C2,$F$2:$F$4)

Copy down.

Expected Output

This combines project scheduling, working-day calculations, and holiday handling.

Key Takeaways

• WORKDAY calculates a date a specific number of working days before or after another date.
• NETWORKDAYS counts working days between two dates.
• By default, both functions treat Saturday and Sunday as weekends.
• A positive number in WORKDAY moves forward.
• A negative number in WORKDAY moves backward.
• Holidays can be excluded by supplying a holiday range.
• Absolute references such as $F$2:$F$4 are useful when copying formulas.
• WORKDAY.INTL allows you to define a different weekend pattern.
• NETWORKDAYS.INTL counts working days using a custom weekend pattern.
• These functions are useful for project deadlines, delivery dates, employee schedules, attendance, and business reporting.
• NETWORKDAYS normally counts both the start and end dates when they are working days.

FAQs

1. What does WORKDAY do in Excel?

WORKDAY calculates a date that occurs a specified number of working days before or after a starting date.

=WORKDAY(A2,10)

This moves 10 working days forward from the date in A2.

2. What does NETWORKDAYS do?

NETWORKDAYS calculates the number of working days between two dates while excluding weekends.

=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)

3. Does WORKDAY exclude Saturday and Sunday?

Yes. By default, WORKDAY treats Saturday and Sunday as non-working days.

4. How can I exclude holidays from WORKDAY?

Provide the holiday range as the third argument:

=WORKDAY(A2,10,$F$2:$F$10)

The dates in F2:F10 will be excluded from the calculation.

5. How can I exclude holidays using NETWORKDAYS?

Use:

=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,$F$2:$F$10)

This excludes weekends and the dates listed in the holiday range.

6. What is the difference between WORKDAY and NETWORKDAYS in excel?

WORKDAY returns a date.

NETWORKDAYS returns a number of working days.

For example:

=WORKDAY(A2,10)

returns a date, while:

=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)

returns a number.

7. What is WORKDAY.INTL?

WORKDAY.INTL is an extended version of WORKDAY that lets you specify a custom weekend pattern.

For example:

=WORKDAY.INTL(A2,10,11)

uses Sunday as the only weekend day.

8. What is NETWORKDAYS.INTL?

NETWORKDAYS.INTL counts working days while allowing you to specify which days are weekends.

For example:

=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(A2,B2,7)

uses Friday and Saturday as the weekend.

9. Why should I use absolute references for holidays?

Suppose your holidays are in F2:F10. Using:

=WORKDAY(A2,10,$F$2:$F$10)

keeps the holiday range fixed when you copy the formula to other rows.

Without $, the holiday range may move as the formula is copied.

10. Can WORKDAY calculate a previous working date?

Yes. Use a negative number.

=WORKDAY(A2,-5)

This returns the date five working days before the date in A2.

Written by Shubhranshu Shekhar, who has trained 20000+ students in coding.

Rishabh Kumar