Spreadsheet audit checklist: 12 checks before you trust an Excel workbook.
A workbook can calculate without being trustworthy. Before a spreadsheet drives a report, forecast, invoice, budget, or operational decision, review the parts most likely to fail quietly: formulas, dependencies, hidden content, calculation settings, data shape, and workbook controls.
The 12-point Excel workbook audit
Scan for visible Excel errors
Search formulas and saved results for #REF!, #VALUE!, #DIV/0!, #N/A, #NAME?, and related error values.
Compare repeated formula patterns
Look down formula columns and across periods for a cell that suddenly uses a different relative-reference pattern.
Find hard-coded overrides and formula gaps
Review literal values or blanks that interrupt a formula run. Confirm whether each exception is intentional and documented.
Audit totals and range boundaries
Check that totals include every intended row exactly once and do not accidentally include subtotals or omit the newest records.
Review lookups and likely keys
Confirm exact-versus-approximate matching behavior and check source key columns for duplicates that can make a lookup return an unexpected record.
Trace cross-sheet and external dependencies
Identify which worksheets feed other worksheets and whether formulas rely on external workbooks, query tables, or connection definitions.
Inspect hidden sheets, rows, and columns
Hidden content can be legitimate, but populated or formula-bearing hidden areas should be understood before the workbook is trusted.
Confirm calculation mode
A workbook saved in manual calculation mode can display values that are older than the formulas and inputs currently in the file.
Check data types and whitespace
Numbers stored as text and leading or trailing spaces can break joins, lookups, imports, filters, and duplicate detection.
Review headers, blank rows, and merged cells
Duplicate or missing headers, blank rows inside a table, and merged cells in data areas can cause downstream processing problems.
Inspect defined names and workbook rules
Broken defined names, data-validation sources, and conditional-formatting references can survive even after sheets or ranges are changed.
Inventory macros and coverage limits
Know whether VBA is present and be clear about what your review did not execute or recalculate. Static analysis can narrow risk, but it cannot certify business logic.
Manual audit vs. automated scan
A manual audit is strongest when you know the business rules and expected outputs. An automated scan is useful for covering repetitive structural checks consistently across a workbook. The best review combines both: use automation to surface suspicious areas, then apply human context to decide what is actually wrong.
Spreadsheet Checkup performs a static, read-only analysis. It does not recalculate Excel formulas, execute VBA, refresh Power Query, contact linked workbooks, or validate chart and Data Model semantics.
Turn the checklist into a first-pass report.
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