Excel WORKDAY.INTL Function

The Microsoft Excel WORKDAY.INTL function is a handy tool designed to calculate the end date after a specified number of working days, allowing for custom weekend configurations and holidays. This function is part of Excel Date and Time Functions, serving as a major convenience for project planning, HR activities, and accounting tasks, offering flexibility in defining what constitutes as weekends or days off.

Excel WORKDAY.INTL Syntax:

=WORKDAY.INTL(start_date, days, [weekend], [holidays])

The WORKDAY.INTL function includes four parameters, where the first two are required and the last two are optional. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Excel WORKDAY.INTL Parameters:

• start_date: The date from which the calculation starts. It should be in a date format that Excel recognizes.
• days: The number of working days to add to the start date. A negative number will compute a date before the start date.
• weekend (Optional): A number or string that specifies the days of the week that are weekends. Default is 1, meaning Saturday and Sunday.
• holidays (Optional): An array of dates that should be excluded from the working day calendar, such as national holidays.

Return Value:

The WORKDAY.INTL function returns a serial number representing the calculated end date. This serial number can be formatted in Excel to display a readable date.

Examples:

Let’s look at a few examples to see how WORKDAY.INTL can be applied in different scenarios:

=WORKDAY.INTL("2023-01-01", 10, 1)

This will calculate the date 10 working days from January 1, 2023, considering Saturday and Sunday as the weekend.

=WORKDAY.INTL("2023-01-01", -5, "0000011", A2:A5)

This example calculates 5 working days before January 1, 2023, with only Sunday as the weekend and considering dates in A2:A5 as holidays.

Use Cases:

The WORKDAY.INTL function is commonly used for:

• Project planning to calculate end dates.
• HR to determine employee start or end dates based on working days.
• Accounting to calculate payment due dates excluding weekends and holidays.

For effective use, plan your weekend and holiday parameters in advance and use consistent date formats.

Common Errors:

Some common errors users might encounter include:

• Using text for the start_date or days that Excel doesn’t recognize as a date or number.
• Incorrect weekend code leading to unexpected calculations.

To avoid these errors, ensure your dates are in a recognizable format and double-check your weekend codes.

Compatibility:

The WORKDAY.INTL function is available in Excel 2010 and later versions, including Excel for Office 365. It’s not available in earlier versions, which might limit its use in environments with mixed Excel versions.

Conclusion:

The WORKDAY.INTL function is a versatile tool in Microsoft Excel for calculating workdays with flexible weekend and holiday options. By better understanding its syntax, parameters, and use cases, you can efficiently plan and schedule important dates in your activities. Experiment with this function in your own spreadsheets to see how it can streamline your scheduling needs. Remember, at LearnExcel.io, we’re dedicated to providing trusted advice to enhance your Excel skills.