What is networkdays.intl in excel?

Returns the number of whole workdays between two dates using parameters to indicate which and how many days are weekend days. Weekend days and any days that are specified as holidays are not considered as workdays.

The NETWORKDAYS.INTL Function[1] helps in calculating the number of workdays between two given dates and, thus, works as a business days calculator. It is a built-in function and is categorized as an Excel Date/Time Function. The function was introduced in MS Excel 2010.

=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(start_date, end_date, [weekend], [holidays])

The NETWORKDAYS.INTL function includes the following arguments:

The following are the weekend number values that indicate which weekend days the function will take:

Weekend string values are seven characters long and each character in the string represents a day of the week. It starts on Monday. 1 represents a non-workday and 0 represents a workday. Only the characters 1 and 0 are permitted in the string. For example, 0000110 would result in a weekend that is Friday and Saturday.

Let’s see a few examples to understand how the function works.

Let’s say we wish to calculate the workdays or business days from January 11, 2017 to January 31, 2018. The holidays in between are:

If we consider that the weekend falls on Saturday and Sunday, using the start date, end date and holidays given, we can calculate the number of working days.

The formula to use would be:

Using this formula, we will get the number of working days as 273.

We can change the weekends according to our requirements by providing the values given above.

When calculating past working days, it will give a negative result.

The dates given are February 28, 2016 as start date and January 31, 2016 as the end date. There are no holidays in between. However, the weekend comes on Friday and Saturday. So, the formula to be used would be =NETWORKDAYS.INTL(A2,B2,7).

The result we got is -21, that is, 21 past days.

Continuing with Example 1, let’s assume that the weekend falls on Thursday. The formula to be used would be =NETWORKDAYS.INTL(A2,B2,15,D2:D4).

So, the function gave us the result of 329 days, as weekends fall on Thursday and Thanksgiving is on Thursday.

Click here to download the sample Excel file

Thanks for reading CFI’s guide to important Excel functions and how to make a business days calculation in Excel! By taking the time to learn and master these functions, you’ll significantly speed up your financial analysis. To learn more, check out these additional CFI resources:

Microsoft Excel provides two functions specially designed for calculating weekdays - WORKDAY and NETWORKDAYS.

The WORKDAY function returns a date N working days in the future or in the past and you can use it to add or subtract workdays to a given date.

Using the NETWORKDAYS function, you can calculate the number of workdays between two dates that you specify.

In Excel 2010 and higher, more powerful modifications of the above-said functions are available, WORKDAY.INTL and NETWORKDAYS.INTL, which let you define which and how many days are weekend days.

And now, let's have a closer look at each function and see how you can use it to calculate working days in your Excel worksheets.