Whether you’ve recently ordered a product or you’re waiting for something to be completed, most companies will give you a timeline set in business days.
Business days allow companies to give more accurate time estimates, but can be confusing to calculate.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about how to calculate business days.
What Is A Business Day?
A business day is considered any day of the week, that does not fall on a weekend or a federal holiday.
This means that Saturday and Sunday are not considered business days. Only Monday-Friday count as a business day, and only if they do not fall on a federal holiday.
This is because many businesses do not operate on weekends. Therefore, business days are used to give a more accurate representation on when something will be completed. For example, if somebody told you that something would take ‘3 business days’, it could take only 3 days. However, it could also take longer, if there is a weekend or any federal holidays coming up.
Thankfully, calculating the number of business days isn’t very challenging, and we’ll include a handy table below to show you exactly how long something might take.
What Are Considered Business Hours?
After business days, the next thing you might be wondering about are business hours.
In short, business hours are considered to be 9 AM to 5 PM, in the local time zone of the business.
Of course, some stores may open earlier or stay open later than these hours. However, when somebody is talking about ‘business hours’ without reference to a specific company, they usually mean 9 AM to 5 PM.
In fact, this is where the phrase, ‘working a 9-to-5’ came from!
What Are The Federal, Non-Business Day Holidays?
Below, you’ll find a table of all federal holidays.
Each federal holiday on this list is not considered to be a business day by most companies. Therefore, you should take these into account when calculating the number of business days.
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Note that different regions or areas may include additional holidays that are not on this list. For example, many businesses treat Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Christmas Eve as non-business days as well, which may add further delays.
Therefore, it would be best to consult with the company you’re working with to find out if there will be any further delays.
Business Days Calculator
Below, you will find a simple table that allows you to calculate business days, to normal days.
To use it, look on the left-hand side to find the current day of the week. Then, look over to find out what day of the week it will be after 1+ business days after today.
For example, if today was Wednesday, 3 business days today would be next Monday.
Keep in mind that once you get to 6+ business days, the timeline can span multiple weeks. Therefore, although 6 business days after Monday lands on a Tuesday, the chart is referring to next Tuesday.
[table id=13 /]
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By using this table, you should be able to figure out exactly what day it will be after X number of business days.
How Long Is 1 Business Day?
Business days are any day Monday-Friday, with the exception of federal holidays. In the following sections, all example dates will exclude federal days.
This makes 1 business day quite easy to calculate – if a product will arrive within 1 business day, it will usually arrive tomorrow.
For example, 1 business day after Monday is Tuesday.
However, there is an exception for products ordered on Fridays, and Saturdays.
Here is a simple calculation:
1 business day after Monday is Tuesday.
1 business day after Tuesday is Wednesday.
1 business day after Wednesday is Thursday.
1 business day after Thursday is Friday.
1 business day after Friday is Monday.
1 business day after Saturday is Monday.
1 business day after Sunday is Monday.
This is because Saturdays and Sundays are not considered business days. So, it rolls over to the following Monday.
How Long Is 2 Business Days?
2 business days can be as short as 2 regular days, or as long as 4 regular days if they happen to cross a weekend.
Let’s look over some examples.
2 business days after Monday is Wednesday.
2 business days after Tuesday is Thursday.
2 business days after Wednesday is Friday.
2 business days after Thursday is Monday.
2 business days after Friday is Tuesday.
2 business days after Saturday is Tuesday.
2 business days after Sunday is Tuesday.
This is because the 1st business day doesn’t occur until Monday. So, Monday is the 1st business day, and Tuesday is the 2nd business day.
How Long Is 3 Business Days?
3 business days can be as little as 3 regular days, to as long as 5 regular days if they happen to cross a weekend.
Here are some examples, based on the current day of the week.
3 business days after Monday is Thursday.
3 business days after Tuesday is Friday.
3 business days after Wednesday is Monday.
3 business days after Thursday is Tuesday.
3 business days after Friday is Wednesday.
3 business days after Saturday is Wednesday.
How Long Is 4 Business Days?
4 business days can be as little as 4 regular days, to as long as 6 regular days if they happen to cross a weekend.
Here are some examples, from each day of the week.
4 business days after Monday is Friday.
4 business days after Tuesday is Monday.
4 business days after Wednesday is Tuesday.
4 business days after Thursday is Wednesday.
4 business days after Friday is Thursday.
4 business days after Saturday is Thursday.
4 business days after Sunday is Thursday.
How Long Is 5 Business Days?
5 business days can be as little as 6 regular days, to as long as 7 regular days if they happen to cross a weekend.
5 business days after Monday is Monday.
5 business days after Tuesday is Tuesday.
5 business days after Wednesday is Wednesday.
5 business days after Thursday is Thursday.
5 business days after Friday is Friday.
5 business days after Saturday is Friday.
5 business days after Sunday is Friday.
How Long Is 6 Business Days?
6 business days can be as little as 8 regular days, to as long as 9 regular days depending on what day of the week it is.
This is because at 6 business days, are you guaranteed to cross a weekend at least once.
6 business days after Monday is Tuesday.
6 business days after Tuesday is Wednesday.
6 business days after Wednesday is Thursday.
6 business days after Thursday is Friday.
6 business days after Friday is Monday.
6 business days after Saturday is Monday.
6 business days after Sunday is Monday.
How Long Is 7 Business Days?
7 business days can be as little as 9 regular days, to as long as 10 regular days depending on what day of the week it is.
7 business days after Monday is Wednesday.
7 business days after Tuesday is Thursday.
7 business days after Wednesday is Friday.
7 business days after Thursday is Monday.
7 business days after Friday is Tuesday.
7 business days after Saturday is Tuesday.
7 business days after Sunday is Tuesday.
How Long Is 8 Business Days?
8 business days can be as little as 10 regular days, to as long as 11 regular days depending on what day of the week it is.
8 business days after Monday is Thursday.
8 business days after Tuesday is Friday.
8 business days after Wednesday is Monday.
8 business days after Thursday is Tuesday.
8 business days after Friday is Wednesday.
8 business days after Saturday is Wednesday.
8 business days after Sunday is Wednesday.
How Long Is 9 Business Days?
9 business days can be as little as 11 regular days, to as long as 13 regular days depending on what day of the week it is.
9 business days after Monday is Friday.
9 business days after Tuesday is Monday.
9 business days after Wednesday is Tuesday.
9 business days after Thursday is Wednesday.
9 business days after Friday is Thursday.
9 business days after Saturday is Thursday.
9 business days after Sunday is Thursday.
How Long Is 10 Business Days?
10 business days can be as little as 12 regular days, to as long as 14 regular days depending on what day of the week it is.
10 business days after Monday is Monday.
10 business days after Tuesday is Tuesday.
10 business days after Wednesday is Wednesday.
10 business days after Thursday is Thursday.
10 business days after Friday is Friday.
10 business days after Saturday is Friday.
10 business days after Sunday is Friday.
How Long Is 3-5 Business Days?
If a company gives you an estimate of 3 to 5 business days, it can take between 3 and 7 actual days before the time is up.
3-5 business days after Monday can be as early as Thursday, to as late as next Monday.
3-5 business days after Tuesday can be as early as Friday, to as late as next Tuesday.
3-5 business days after Wednesday can be as early as Monday, to as late as next Wednesday.
3-5 business days after Thursday can be as early as Tuesday, to as late as next Thursday.
3-5 business days after Friday can be as early as Wednesday, to as late as next Friday.
3-5 business days after Saturday can be as early as Wednesday, to as late as Friday.
3-5 business days after Sunday can be as early as Wednesday, to as late as Friday.
How Long Is 7-10 Business Days?
If you’re given an estimate of 7-10 business days, it can take between 9 and 14 actual days before the time is up.
7-10 business days after Monday can be as early as next Wednesday, to as late as 2 weeks.
7-10 business days after Tuesday can be as early as next Thursday, to as late as 2 weeks.
7-10 business days after Wednesday can be as early as next Friday, to as late as 2 weeks.
7-10 business days after Thursday can be as early as the Monday after next, to as late as 2 weeks.
7-10 business days after Friday can be as early as the Tuesday after next, to as late as 2 weeks.
7-10 business days after Saturday can be as early as the Tuesday after next, to as late as the Friday after next.
7-10 business days after Sunday can be as the Tuesday after next, to as late as the Friday after next.
Conclusion
Business days can be a little bit confusing to calculate, because they don’t exactly mirror our normal days.
While most days are considered to be business days, weekends are not. Additionally, federal holidays are also not considered business days, so you should factor these in when making calculations using the data above.
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them using the comment form below.
Thank you for reading,
– James McAllister
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