Count who actually signed up (COUNTA)
Ten colleagues were invited to a workshop and the sign-up sheet is in B2:B11 — some wrote their name, some left the cell blank. The venue only fits confirmed attendees, so count how many cells in B2:B11 are not empty. Put the headcount in the Confirmed cell D2.
Your solution should use cell references so it updates automatically when Test Case input values change.
Notes
COUNTA counts every non-empty cell: text, numbers, booleans, even a formula that returns an empty string. COUNT only counts numbers — on a text column it returns 0, which is the classic reason a "count" quietly reports zero. For a text column like this one, COUNTA is the right tool.
FAQ
What formula counts non-empty cells in Excel?
=COUNTA(B2:B11). It counts anything that is not blank — text, numbers, dates, booleans. Use COUNT instead only when you want numbers specifically.
What is the difference between COUNT and COUNTA?
COUNT counts cells containing numbers; COUNTA counts all non-empty cells. On a column of names, COUNT returns 0 while COUNTA returns the real headcount.
How do I count empty cells instead?
=COUNTBLANK(B2:B11). It counts genuinely empty cells. Note a formula returning "" looks blank but is counted as non-empty by COUNTA — a subtle difference that trips up sign-up sheets maintained by formulas.