How Excel Risk Check Works
Get comprehensive spreadsheet validation in seconds. No signup, no installation, no learning curve. Just upload your file and receive actionable results.
Three Steps to Spreadsheet Confidence
Our streamlined process gets you from upload to insights in under 30 seconds.
Upload Your Spreadsheet
Navigate to our app and drag your Excel file into the upload area. We support both modern .xlsx files and legacy .xls formats. Your file is uploaded securely over HTTPS and processed in our isolated cloud environment.
Supported Formats
- .xlsx — Modern Excel format (Excel 2007 and later)
- .xls — Legacy Excel format (Excel 97-2003)
File Size Limits
Files up to 50MB are supported for web upload. For larger files or batch processing, our CLI tool handles files of any size without upload limitations.
Privacy and Security
Your files are processed in memory and automatically deleted after analysis. We do not store your spreadsheet data, share it with third parties, or use it for any purpose other than generating your risk report.
Drag & Drop Your File
or click to browse
Automatic Analysis
Once uploaded, our validation engine automatically processes your spreadsheet through multiple analysis passes. No configuration required — we apply comprehensive checks designed to catch the issues that matter most in business spreadsheets.
What Happens During Analysis
Our engine performs a complete scan of your workbook structure, iterating through every sheet, cell, and formula. We build dependency graphs to trace formula relationships and identify circular references. Data quality checks examine each column for consistency and completeness.
Analysis Passes
- Structural scan — File size, sheet count, hidden elements
- Formula analysis — Error detection, complexity scoring
- Dependency mapping — Circular reference identification
- Data quality — Type consistency, completeness checks
- Risk templates — Built-in pattern validation
Processing Time
Most spreadsheets complete analysis in 5-15 seconds. Larger files with complex formulas may take up to 30 seconds. You'll see real-time progress during processing.
Analysis in Progress
Review Your Risk Score
Analysis complete — now you see the results. Your spreadsheet receives an overall risk score from 0 to 100, with detailed breakdowns by category. Every issue is documented with its location, severity, and recommended remediation.
Understanding Your Score
The risk score is calculated from weighted category scores. A score of 80-100 indicates low risk with minimal concerns. Scores between 40-79 identify medium risk with issues that should be addressed. Scores below 40 indicate high risk requiring immediate attention.
Issue Details
Each detected issue includes the exact cell reference, a description of the problem, severity level (Error, Warning, or Info), and specific remediation guidance. For formula issues, we show the actual formula content so you can understand exactly what's wrong.
Export Options
Download your results as JSON for system integration, Excel with hyperlinks for easy navigation to problem cells, or PDF for professional documentation and record-keeping.
Medium Risk
Complete Validation Coverage
Every spreadsheet is checked against our comprehensive validation ruleset.
Formula Errors
#REF!, #VALUE!, #DIV/0!, #N/A, #NAME?, #NUM!, #NULL! — all standard Excel errors are detected and reported with their exact locations.
Circular References
Dependency graph analysis identifies all circular reference chains, showing the complete path so you can break the cycle at the right point.
Volatile Functions
NOW(), TODAY(), RAND(), RANDBETWEEN(), OFFSET(), INDIRECT() — functions that recalculate unpredictably are flagged for review.
Data Quality
Empty rows, mixed data types, duplicate rows, and values outside expected ranges are identified with specific remediation guidance.
Structural Issues
Hidden sheets, hidden rows/columns, merged cells, external links, and named ranges are cataloged for complete visibility.
Risk Templates
Built-in templates check for hardcoded values, missing input traceability, volatile functions in critical calculations, and undocumented logic.
Need Command-Line Access?
Our CLI tool provides the same validation capabilities for automation and batch processing.
For teams that need to integrate spreadsheet validation into automated workflows,
our excel-validator CLI tool provides full access to the same validation
engine used in the web app. Run it locally on any file size, integrate it into CI/CD
pipelines, or batch process entire directories.