Totals and counts function
COUNTA
Count the cells that are not empty.
Purpose
Count how many cells in a range have anything in them
Returns
A number: how many cells are not empty
Syntax
=COUNTA(range1, [range2], ...)
| Argument | Required | What goes here |
|---|---|---|
range1 | Required | The cells to look at, like B2:B13. |
range2 | Optional | The cells to look at, like B2:B13. |
How to use COUNTA
COUNTA counts every cell holding anything at all, whether it is a number, a word or a single space.
It is how you count rows. An invoice reference column is text, so COUNT returns nought on it and COUNTA returns the number of invoices.
Paired with COUNT it says whether the numeric column is as complete as the row count says it should be.
Examples
Every result below is worked out by the same evaluator that marks your answers, on the sheet shown here.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invoice | Supplier | Status | Days overdue | Amount | Supplier | Terms (days) | |
| 2 | INV-8801 | Brightwell Paper | Overdue | 12 | 940 | Ashgrove Catering | 30 | |
| 3 | INV-8802 | Calder Utilities | Queried | 47 | 1180 | Brightwell Paper | 30 | |
| 4 | INV-8803 | Meridian Freight | Overdue | 63 | 2450 | Calder Utilities | 14 | |
| 5 | INV-8804 | Ashgrove Catering | On terms | 0 | 405 | Meridian Freight | 45 | |
| 6 | INV-8805 | Brightwell Paper | Overdue | 38 | 760 | Thornbury Print | 60 | |
| 7 | INV-8806 | Thornbury Print | Overdue | 91 | 1320 | |||
| 8 | INV-8807 | Meridian Freight | On terms | 0 | 580 | |||
| 9 | INV-8808 | Calder Utilities | Overdue | 24 | 215 |
| Formula | Result |
|---|---|
=COUNTA(A2:A9)Eight rows on the schedule. | 8 |
=COUNTA(A2:A40)The same count over a generous block. Empty rows are not counted, so this one keeps working as the ledger grows. | 8 |
=COUNT(E2:E9)/COUNTA(A2:A9)The proportion of rows carrying a figure. One means the column is complete. | 1 |
Notes
- A cell holding "" from a formula counts as something to COUNTA, which is how a column of results can look fuller than it is.