Leap Years Have an Extra Day

Leap years are years where an extra day is added to the end of the shortest month, February. This so-called intercalary day, February 29, is commonly referred to as leap day.

Leap years have 366 days instead of the usual 365 days and occur almost every four years. The next one is February 29, 2028.

In our modern-day Gregorian calendar, three criteria must be taken into account to identify leap years: the year must be evenly divisible by 4;

Money.co.uk business bank accounts expert Kyle Eaton explains five business benefits that only happen in a leap year:

"Leap years are an interesting event, aren't they? Occurring every four years to help correct drifts caused by astronomical events - there are all sorts of weird and wonderful traditions and superstitions linked to the day. 

"But I happen to think there are some interesting business benefits to them too. A free 24-hour handout from the universe, if you will."

Here are my picks for the five business benefits that could come from a leap year:

1. Trade the day away

While it would be nice if the 29 February was classed as a Bank Holiday (which some petition for), it's much nicer that it's effectively a free day for your business to trade. A whole 24 hours more to reach out to your customers, sell your products, pitch your ideas and earn extra money. In 2024, the leap day falls on a Thursday too - so it won't come as a surprise to any of your customers to hear you're open for business. 

1.  Make the most of no bills 

Unlike most events, a leap day doesn't come round once a year. So for insurance providers, landlords, subscription services and energy providers (to name just a few), it's not worth recalculating your bills to make up for a leap year. The result? You get an extra day of usage for the same amount of money*. You could be really savvy and invest that money in a business savings account, allowing you to make some interest on the additional funds too. 

*This one comes with the caveat to check your individual policies and with your bill providers

1. A promotional boost to introduce new customers

With people going about their business for an extra day this year, that's another 24 hours to get your business in front of the eyes of potential customers. An extra social media campaign maybe? You can use the extra day to tout for business and enjoy the rewards of those additional sales. 

1.  A giveaway day?

While it's great to be able to use the opportunity of an extra day to make money for your business - you could also use it to give something back. Maybe you could close your business for the day and get involved with a community or charity project. Or you could give your staff a day to focus on their well-being or to volunteer for a cause close to their heart. 

1. Enjoy it while it lasts

There hasn't been any official announcement of leap years coming to an end, but from 2035, leap seconds will no longer exist. A leap second, introduced in 1967, is a one-second adjustment intermittently made to clocks to synchronise them up to the rotation of Earth, and in 2035, they're being suspended for 100 years. 

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