How to Count Working Days Between Two Dates (and Add Days)
Count business days between dates or add working days to a start date, skipping weekends and holidays, including the Friday-Saturday weekend.
Deadlines, delivery times and notice periods are often counted in working days, not calendar days. The free Working Days Calculator counts them for you.
Quick answer
Choose a start date, then either add a number of working days or enter an end date to count the days between. Select your weekend and list any holidays to skip.
The Working Days Calculator tool on shobfree.com, ready to use in your browser.
Choose the right weekend
Many countries use Saturday and Sunday. In Bangladesh the weekend is Friday and Saturday for most offices, and some places use only Friday. The tool lets you choose Friday only, Friday and Saturday, Saturday and Sunday, or none.
A simple example
If a delivery takes 10 working days and you start on a Sunday with a Friday-Saturday weekend:
- Week one covers Sunday to Thursday, which is 5 working days.
- Week two covers Sunday to Thursday, which is 5 more.
- The delivery date is the second Thursday, 11 calendar days after the start.
Add one public holiday in the middle and it moves to the following Sunday.
Adding holidays
Enter holiday dates, one per line, in the format year-month-day. Dates that fall on a weekend do not count twice.
Where it is useful
- Notice periods and probation in job contracts.
- Supplier and courier delivery estimates.
- Project schedules and invoice due dates.
- Government service deadlines.
Calendar days or working days in contracts
Check what a contract means. "Within 30 days" usually means calendar days, while "within 30 working days" means business days and can be six weeks or more. A notice period of 30 working days with a Friday-Saturday weekend ends about 42 calendar days later, and more with holidays, depending on holidays. Write the unit clearly in your own agreements to avoid disputes.
Planning around long holidays
Eid breaks and national holidays can remove five to ten working days in a month. When you plan a delivery, add the holidays to the tool and see the real date. If a courier works Saturday, change the weekend setting to match that business, not yours.
Worked example with a holiday
A supplier promises delivery in 7 working days from Sunday, 4 October, with a Friday and Saturday weekend. Counting starts on the next working day: Monday 5 is day 1, Tuesday 6 is day 2, Wednesday 7 is day 3 and Thursday 8 is day 4. Friday and Saturday are skipped, then Sunday 11 is day 5, Monday 12 is day 6 and Tuesday 13 is day 7. Delivery falls on Tuesday, 13 October. If Monday the 12th is a public holiday, it moves to Wednesday the 14th.
Tips for teams
Agree a shared holiday list at the start of each year and keep it in one document. When you work with a partner in another country, state whose calendar applies to each deadline.
Sources and further reading
- Public holiday lists for Bangladesh are issued each year by the government gazette of the Ministry of Public Administration.
Frequently asked questions
Is the start day counted? No. Counting begins from the next working day.
Does it know the public holidays? No. Add them yourself, since dates such as Eid change every year.
Can I count working days backwards? Yes. Use the between mode to find the number of working days from an earlier date to a later one, and compare against your deadline.
Next step
Open the Working Days Calculator. For plain date gaps, use the Date Difference Calculator.
