Excel Model Review Checklist – 12 Checks Before You Send a Workbook

Updated October 12, 2026

Most spreadsheet errors that reach a client or a board are not complex. They are a typed number in a formula column, a range that stopped one row short, or a link to last month’s file. This checklist covers the mechanical checks worth doing every time, in roughly the order that finds the most problems fastest.

Structure

1. Unhide everything. Check for hidden sheets (including very hidden sheets that only appear in the VBA editor), hidden rows and hidden columns. Decide whether each one should be there. → Hidden sheets
2. List external links. Data → Edit Links. Every linked file is a dependency you are not reviewing. → External links
3. Check named ranges. Formulas → Name Manager. Delete names that return #REF! or point to other workbooks.

Formula integrity

4. Look for hard-coded overrides. In each calculated column, find typed numbers sitting between formulas. These are the most common silent error. → Hard-coded values
5. Look for inconsistent formulas. A single formula that references a different row from its neighbours is usually a drag or insert-row mistake. → Inconsistent formulas
6. Find every error value. Go To Special → Formulas → Errors. Fix the source rather than wrapping it in IFERROR. → Formula errors
7. Search for #REF! inside formulas. These references are permanently broken. → #REF! errors
8. Check total ranges. For each SUM, confirm the range covers every detail row — especially after rows were inserted at the bottom.

Numbers that must agree

9. Foot the key schedules. Detail totals should equal the summary, within rounding.
10. Tie to the source. Revenue, cash and headcount should agree with the ledger or system report they came from. → Reconciliation checker
11. Check signs. Credits stored as negatives in one sheet and positives in another cause “differences” that are not real — and hide ones that are.

Before sending

12. Compare with the last version you sent. Anything that changed in logic, not just inputs, deserves a second look. → Compare two Excel files

Automating the mechanical part

Checks 1–7 are mechanical: a tool can do them in seconds and point at the exact cells. The DraftReview error checker runs them in your browser without uploading the file, so you can spend the review time on checks 8–12 — the ones that need judgement.