How Long Is a Business Day?

“Your product will be delivered in two business days.” – You must have frequently encountered this phrase when you receive a notification from the seller after placing an order for a product. But what exactly does the term business day mean, and how long is a business day?

The definition of business days and the business week can vary from one country to another, so it’s necessary to check the standard business week and hours applicable.

After reading this blog, you’ll know everything about what a business day is, how long a business day is, and the basic difference between a business day and a workday.

What Are Business Days?

Generally, a business day is any day of the week, excluding weekends and public holidays, of 8 hours, typically from 9 am to 5 pm.

Whenever we talk about the business days, you can consider the days and hours in which banks operate, i.e., 9 am to 5 pm from Monday to Friday.

Thus, you can consider any day as a business day, excluding the days of public holidays and weekends.

For instance, if someone says you’ll get your order within five business days, you can expect delivery over the next five consecutive days, excluding weekends and holidays.

However, businesses can choose to work at different times, such as 3 pm to 11 pm or 12 pm to 8 pm, depending upon the nature of the business and its requirements. Similarly, the concept of business days can vary based on region, as some countries follow particular hours and days as their standard business hours. Nonetheless, most of the countries use Monday to Friday as their standard business days.

Note: For the sake of clarity, in this blog, we’ll mostly focus on the concept of business day in the context of product or service delivery.

How Long Is a Business Day?

A business day is any day of the week, excluding weekends and holidays, with an 8-hour time slot, typically from 9 am to 5 pm.

Despite some businesses opening before 9 am or staying open after 5 pm, the 9 am to 5 pm timeslot is considered standard business hours.

Most businesses operate for 8 hours. However, a few things can be considered, such as the business day being shorter or longer as per the company’s hours of operation and the duration of breaks. On top of that, business days may get extended by overtime when working on time-sensitive projects.

But as a rule of thumb, if a business operates from 9 am to 5 pm, the business day will be 8 hours long.

Thus, one business day comprises 8 x 1 = 8 hours.

Note: We’ve used the term business days as a phrase throughout the blog, as it’s the most common phrase used in the shipping and retail sectors.

Importance of Business Days

Understanding business days is crucial for scheduling deliveries, processing payments, and managing business operations, as mentioned below:

Customer Experience & Support

The business day works as a reference for organizations to convey to the customers when they can expect the services, including the turnaround time for response to any query or resolution for any issues.

Logistics

Business days provide the reference to track delivery dates, contract timings, and deal closings, which is important for logistics planning.

Payroll

In most organizations, employees are given pay cheques on a stipulated pay date every month. However, financial establishments are generally closed during holidays and weekends, so if the payday falls on these days, it may disrupt the pay cycle.

Thus, whenever the payday falls on a weekend or public holiday, it’s suggested to pay employees on a business day that falls prior to that weekend or public holiday.

Tax Filing

Business days and its understanding is crucial for taxpayers as well. Usually, taxpayers are required to submit their taxes on a stipulated date. However, if this last date of tax filing doesn’t fall on a business day, the immediate next business day becomes the tax filing date.

For instance, if the last date for tax filing is 15 April and this date falls on a Sunday in a particular year, the immediate next business day (i.e. 16 April) will be considered as the last date for filing taxes.

Processing Transactions

The terms business day and week are quite popular in B2B and B2C business transactions. For example, if someone deposits a check to make a payment on a certain day, knowing about business days will enable them to track when it gets cleared. However, considering modern payment methods, transactions can be done any time and any day.

Business days also help set payment expectations for clients. For instance, if a business sends an invoice to a client stating that they must pay the bill within 2 business days, then the client will know by when (or by which date) the payment needs to be made.

Stock Trading

Market authorities specify certain days as non-business days when trading and investment activities can’t take place, so investments should be done accordingly.

Business Days in Different Countries

Business days are generally considered from Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. However, as mentioned earlier, there’s no standard worldwide rule, as the business week can vary from country to country.

Here are a few countries that follow unique business days and hours:

• In Saudi Arabia, a business week runs from Sunday to Thursday.
• In the United Arab Emirates, employees work from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm from Monday to Friday, but on Fridays, the business day is shorter, from 7:30 am to midday.
• In Jordan, the business week is from Saturday to Thursday.
• In several Middle Eastern countries, the business week runs from Sunday to Thursday, while Friday and Saturday are treated as the weekend.
• Asian countries have diverse business week types. For example, in Nepal, the business week starts from Sunday to Friday, with a half-day on Friday, and in Brunei, the weekend falls on Friday and Sunday, with Saturday being considered a working day.

Despite the considerations in different countries, most countries, like the USA, China, and Canada, treat Monday to Friday as their standard business days.

Thus, Monday to Friday is considered the standard business week, excluding public holidays.

In addition, most of the time, the business weeks are five days long, but how long a business week can be may vary depending upon the countries’ first and last business days.

For example, Europe considers Monday as the first day of the business week, while in Saudi Arabia, Saturday is the first business day.

Business Day vs. Workday

Although the terms business day and workday refer to the days the business operates, they still hold different meanings.

Workdays are specific to the organizations and refer to those days in which employees go to work, while standard business days are mostly the days during which banks are open, i.e., from Monday to Friday.

A work day is similar to a business day in the sense that employees are generally expected to work the same number of hours as the business day, i.e., around 8 hours.

However, depending on the job and industry requirements, employees may work at different times than business hours, and they may also be required to work overtime for which they get overtime pay.

Example:

Let’s consider an establishment where employees work from Tuesday to Saturday on the 4 pm to 1 am shift. These days will be referred to as workdays.

On the other hand, the business days are typically any day between Monday and Friday, excluding all the public holidays.

Business Days: Monday to Friday (9 am to 5 pm)

Workdays: Tuesday to Saturday (4 pm to 1 am)

Just like business days, the workdays and workweeks also differ across countries. Knowing this is important while doing business with such countries.

What Are Business Days in Shipping?

Business days in shipping refers to the number of days a business will take to ship your item from the establishment to your delivery address. Most businesses use the term business days to specify the total shipping time.

The business days are the total days it will take from the time an order is placed to when it’s delivered, excluding weekends and holidays. The length of the shipping time varies depending on the method of shipping used, such as airmail, intermodal shipping, priority mail, or overnight express delivery.

Did You Know? Many businesses use a cutoff time for the order processing. For instance, if a business notifies you that your order will be delivered the next business day, it’ll apply to the orders received before the cutoff time. If that business receives any order after the cutoff time, they consider it as received on the next business day.

What’s the Meaning of One Business Day Shipping?

People often confuse one-business-day shipping with same-day shipping.

When you order something, one business day shipping means that the order will be delivered on the next business day, irrespective of the time you ordered it on a certain day.

However, if a seller says that shipping will be done within one business day, then that generally means that you’ll receive your order within 24 hours, as long as it’s not a weekend or public holiday.

How Long Is 1 Business Day?

A business day has an eight-hour slot, typically from 9 am to 5 pm, and it can be any day except for weekends and public holidays. Whenever someone says one business day, you can consider the next consecutive day from that day, excluding the weekends and public holidays.

For example, if it’s Monday today, the next business day would be Tuesday. However, if it’s Friday today, the next business day would be Monday.

Let’s understand this with an example:

Suppose you ordered something on a Friday, and your seller informs you that your order will be delivered in one business day. Then, the next business day would be Monday, comprising three calendar days in total. To be precise, you’ll receive your order on Monday.

Start Day	1 Business Day	Calendar Days
Monday	Tuesday	1 day
Tuesday	Wednesday	1 day
Wednesday	Thursday	1 day
Thursday	Friday	1 day
Friday	Monday	3 days

How Long Is 2 Business Days?

Whenever someone says two business days, you can consider the next two consecutive days from that day, excluding the weekends and public holidays.

For example, if it’s Wednesday today, the next two business days would be Thursday and Friday. However, if it’s Thursday today, the next two business days would be Friday and Monday.

Let’s understand this with an example:

Suppose you order something on a Friday, and your seller informs you that your order will be delivered in two business days. Then, the next two business days will be Monday and Tuesday. To be precise, you’ll receive your order by Tuesday.

Start Day	2 Business Days	Calendar Days
Monday	Wednesday	2 days
Tuesday	Thursday	2 days
Wednesday	Friday	2 days
Thursday	Monday	4 days
Friday	Tuesday	4 days

How Long Is 3 Business Days?

Whenever it’s mentioned that something will be available or completed in three business days, you can consider the next three consecutive days from that day, excluding the weekends and public holidays.

For example, if it’s Wednesday today, the next three business days would be Thursday, Friday, and Monday.

Let’s understand this with an example:

Suppose you ordered something on a Friday, and your seller informs you that your order will be delivered in three business days. Then these three business days will be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. To be precise, you’ll receive your order by Wednesday.

Start Day	3 Business Days	Calendar Days
Monday	Thursday	3 days
Tuesday	Friday	3 days
Wednesday	Monday	5 days
Thursday	Tuesday	5 days
Friday	Wednesday	5 days

How Long Is 5 Business Days?

Whenever someone says five business days, you can consider the next five consecutive days from that day, excluding the weekends and public holidays.

For example, if it’s Wednesday today, the next five business days would be Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Let’s understand this with an example:

Suppose you ordered something on a Friday, and the seller informs you that your order will be delivered in five days. Then, the next five business days will be from next week, i.e., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. To be precise, your order will arrive on or before next Friday.

Start Day	5 Business Days	Calendar Days
Monday	Next Monday	7 days
Tuesday	Next Tuesday	7 days
Wednesday	Next Wednesday	7 days
Thursday	Next Thursday	7 days
Friday	Next Friday	7 days

How Long Is 7 Business Days?

Whenever it’s mentioned that something will be available in seven business days, you can consider the next seven consecutive days from that day, excluding the weekends and public holidays.

For example, if it’s Wednesday today, the next seven business days would be Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Let’s understand this with an example:

Suppose you ordered something on a Friday, and the seller informs you that your order will be delivered in seven business days. Then, the counting of the business days will start from the upcoming week and will go till next to next week, i.e., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. To be precise, your order will arrive by next to next Tuesday.

Start Day	7 Business Days	Calendar Days
Monday	Next Wednesday	9 days
Tuesday	Next Thursday	9 days
Wednesday	Next Friday	9 days
Thursday	Next to Next Monday	11 days
Friday	Next to Next Tuesday	11 days

How Long Is 10 Business Days?

Whenever someone says ten business days, you can consider the next ten consecutive days from that day, excluding the weekends and public holidays.

For example, if it’s Wednesday today, the next ten business days would be Thursday, Friday, (week-2) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, (week-3) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Let’s understand this with an example:

Suppose you ordered something today, and it’s a Monday. The seller informs you that your order will be delivered in ten business days. Then, the next ten business days will be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Monday. Thus, 10 business days is two weeks long, excluding weekends. So your order will arrive by 2 Mondays from today.

Start Day	10 Business Days	Calendar Days
Monday	Next to Next Monday	14 days
Tuesday	Next to Next Tuesday	14 days
Wednesday	Next to Next Wednesday	14 days
Thursday	Next to Next Thursday	14 days
Friday	Next to Next Friday	14 days

How Long Is 2-3 Business Days?

Whenever you get notified that your order will be delivered in 2-3 business days, in that case, you can consider that you’ll receive the order by the next 2 to 3 weekdays, without counting weekends and public holidays.

How Long Is 3-5 Business Days?

Whenever you get notified that your order will be delivered in 3-5 business days, you can consider receiving the order by the next 3 to 5 weekdays, excluding weekends and public holidays.

Bottom Line

A business day is a popular term used in the business sector to deliver goods, provide services, schedule payments, or set contract deadlines. Generally, a business day is any day of the week, excluding holidays and weekends, and typically is 8 hours long with a 9 am to 5 pm work slot.

However, the business week can vary depending on your country, so it’s essential that you check the standard business week and the start day of the business week to get clarity on when you’ll get the deliverables. In addition, business days and workdays are the two terms that are sometimes used interchangeably but hold significant differences.

Even as the business landscape keeps evolving, the knowledge of standard operating days and hours, along with the variations, is necessary for both businesses and consumers. It not only helps in maintaining better communication but can also be important for compliance purposes.