Days left, working days left and the pace you need

project tracker dates

Three formulas for a project deadline: days left, working days left and tasks per day needed.

The problem

How many days are left, and can you still finish?

Sample data

End date in J2 = 2026-10-31, as-of date in K2 = 2026-10-25, tasks in D2:D5 with 2 of 4 not Done. The fixed date keeps the answer stable; use TODAY() in your sheet.

Formulas

Days left:    =MAX(0,J2-K2)                              -> 6
Working days: =NETWORKDAYS(K2,J2)                        -> 5
Pace needed:  =ROUND(COUNTIF(D2:D5,"<>Done")/MAX(1,J2-K2),2) -> 0.33

Pace is tasks per day. No DATEDIF is needed.

Excel vs Sheets

Same in both.

Tested on sample data by the Cellwise checker (log CW-PL-20261018-42). AI-made: the text, voice and visuals are generated by AI.

Checked before publishing: a check.