In Excel 2010, Microsoft introduced a new formula to complement the NEWORKDAYS formula that exists in previous versions of Excel. NETWORKDAYS allows you to calculate the number of workdays in a given time period including holidays. In the new version of the equation for Excel 2010 you can specify when the the weekend falls in the week. So if your weekends are Monday and Tuesday, the function will be able to give you a more accurate result. The function also allows you to specify 1 day “weekends†should you need that option. In the how-to below I will walk you through the new function and the arguments that can be used.
If you have any comments or questions, please post them below. If you’re new to Functions in Excel, read 3 Ways to Enter Formulas in Excel 2010 to become familiar with their use.
Note: I used Excel 2010 for this tutorial. The NETWORKDAYS function is available in Excel 2007, however NETWORKDAYS.INTL is not.
1. Click on the cell you wish to enter the formula into.
2. Click on the Insert Function button.
3. When the Insert Function window opens, click on NETWORKDAYS.INTL from the functions list.
4. Click OK.
5. Enter the following arguments:
- Start_date – The dates need to be entered using the following format – date(year, month, day).
- End_date – The dates need to be entered using the following format – date(year, month, day).
- Weekend – refer to table below.
- Holidays – Can be entered manually using the same method above or if you have a list or an array refer to that instead.
6. Once you have entered the arguments, click OK to proceed.
The result should appear in the cell you selected.
Weekend Table – The default value will be Saturday and Sunday, but if you wish to specify another weekend day you can use the values from the table below.
Table adapted from Excel’s Help guides.
