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SUMIF and COUNTIF with wildcards

This month's ledger lines are below. Revenue accounts are the ones whose code starts with 4. In F2, add up the amounts on revenue accounts. In F3, count the lines whose memo mentions a refund anywhere.

In a condition, * stands for any run of characters and ? for exactly one. "4*" means "starts with 4", "*refund*" means "refund anywhere". Without a * the cell has to match the whole text. Capitals don't matter.

26 Partial matches with * and ? SUMIF, COUNTIF with wildcards Core

ledger.xlsx
Ready

Click a cell while typing to insert it, drag to select a range, F4 adds $, Esc cancels.

Tap a cell while writing a formula to insert it, or slide across cells for a range. The strip above the keyboard has = ( ) : , $.

The SUMIF, COUNTIF with wildcards guide

In a condition, * stands for any run of characters and ? for exactly one. =SUMIF(A2:A13, "4*", C2:C13) adds the accounts that start with 4; =COUNTIF(B2:B13, "*refund*") counts the memos with refund anywhere in them.

CoreAbout 3 minutesBy Updated

Starts with, contains, ends with

Without a *, the condition has to match the whole cell. Capitals don't matter. To look for a real asterisk, write ~*.

*4* is not "starts with 4"

On a chart of accounts, "*4*" catches every code with a 4 in it: 5410 Travel, 6400 Office supplies, 7400 Bank fees. The total looks plausible and is wrong. Say what you mean: "4*".

Wildcards only work on text

If the account codes are plain numbers, like 4010, "4*" finds nothing: wildcards don't match numbers. Use a range instead, =SUMIFS(C2:C13, A2:A13, ">=4000", A2:A13, "<5000"). The reverse fails too: a number test like ">=4000" never matches "4010 Product sales", which is text.

A word from a cell

Join the wildcards to a cell: =COUNTIF(B2:B13, "*"&F1&"*") counts the memos that contain whatever is in F1. See a condition in a cell.

FAQ

How do I use a wildcard in SUMIF?
Put * or ? inside the condition in quotes: =SUMIF(A2:A13,"4*",C2:C13) adds the rows whose A cell starts with 4. * means any characters, ? exactly one.
How do I count cells that contain a word in Excel?
Use =COUNTIF(range,"*word*"). The asterisks on both sides find the word anywhere in the cell, in any capitals.
Why does my SUMIF wildcard return 0?
Usually the cells hold numbers, and wildcards only match text. Use a range condition such as ">=4000" and "<5000" with SUMIFS instead.
How do I search for an actual asterisk with COUNTIF?
Put a tilde in front of it: "~*". The same goes for a question mark: "~?".

This task is in the timed accounting practice test. What Excel interview tests check

All challenges

  1. 01Starter, 3 min Add it upSUM
  2. 02Starter, 3 min Find the averageAVERAGE
  3. 03Starter, 3 min Smallest and largestMIN, MAX
  4. 04Starter, 3 min Count what's thereCOUNT, COUNTA, COUNTBLANK
  5. 05Starter, 3 min Write once, fill downRelative references
  6. 06Core, 3 min Lock it with $Absolute references
  7. 07Starter, 3 min Percent of a totalPercentages
  8. 08Starter, 3 min Make the numbers readableNumber formats
  9. 09Core, 3 min Up or down by how much?Percent change
  10. 10Core, 3 min What you see vs what's storedROUND
  11. 11Core, 3 min The typical valueMEDIAN
  12. 12Core, 3 min Select to the end in one moveCtrl + Shift + arrow
  13. 13Starter, 3 min Sort without breaking rowsSort
  14. 14Starter, 3 min Filter to what mattersFilter
  15. 15Starter, 3 min Copy and paste a formulaCtrl+C, Ctrl+V
  16. 16Core, 3 min Paste values onlyPaste Special → Values
  17. 17Core, 3 min Highlight what's over targetConditional formatting
  18. 18Core, 3 min Spot the duplicatesDuplicate Values rule
  19. 19Core, 3 min Pass or fail?IF
  20. 20Core, 3 min Both or either?AND, OR
  21. 21Core, 3 min Exactly one of the twoXOR
  22. 22Core, 3 min Grade bands with nested IFNested IF
  23. 23Core, 3 min Count the ones that matchCOUNTIF
  24. 24Core, 3 min Add up the ones that matchSUMIF
  25. 25Core, 3 min Use a cell as the conditionCriteria in a cell
  26. 26Core, 3 min Partial matches with * and ?SUMIF, COUNTIF with wildcards
  27. 27Core, 3 min Count with two conditionsCOUNTIFS
  28. 28Core, 3 min Add up with two conditionsSUMIFS
  29. 29Core, 3 min Look it upVLOOKUP
  30. 30Core, 3 min Find the right bracketVLOOKUP approximate match
  31. 31Core, 3 min XLOOKUP, the modern wayXLOOKUP
  32. 32Core, 3 min Where is it in the list?MATCH
  33. 33Advanced, 3 min INDEX and MATCH togetherINDEX + MATCH
  34. 34Advanced, 3 min Lock just the row or the columnMixed references
  35. 35Advanced, 3 min Growth per year (CAGR)CAGR with ^
  36. 36Core, 3 min Use a rate from another sheetReferences to other sheets
  37. 37Core, 3 min Catch the error, not the bugIFERROR
  38. 38Core, 3 min Which invoices are missing?Compare two lists
  39. 39Core, 3 min Reconcile the ledger with the bankXLOOKUP or VLOOKUP + IFNA
  40. 40Core, 3 min Join text together&, CONCAT, PROPER
  41. 41Core, 3 min Split first and last namesLEFT, MID + FIND
  42. 42Core, 3 min Stray spaces that break a countTRIM
  43. 43Core, 3 min Flag the bad entriesTRIM, LEN, EXACT
  44. 44Advanced, 3 min Clean a bank descriptionTEXTBEFORE, TEXTAFTER, PROPER
  45. 45Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: #N/A everywhereFixing #N/A
  46. 46Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: hard-coded numbersReferences instead of typed numbers
  47. 47Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: numbers stored as textNumbers stored as text
  48. 48Core, 3 min One of each, then the totalsUNIQUE
  49. 49Core, 3 min Your first pivot tablePivot tables
  50. 50Advanced, 3 min Which category went up most?SUMIFS, change, lookup
  51. 51Core, 3 min How many days late?Date arithmetic
  52. 52Core, 3 min Turn text into real datesDATEVALUE
  53. 53Advanced, 3 min Month ends and working daysEOMONTH, NETWORKDAYS
  54. 54Core, 3 min Renewal datesEDATE
  55. 55Core, 3 min Days overdue and aging bandsDate difference, aging bands
  56. 56Core, 3 min How many late orders?Pick the tool
  57. 57Core, 3 min Sales per repPick the tool
  58. 58Core, 3 min Whose part is it?Pick the tool
  59. 59Core, 3 min Who gets the bonus?Pick the tool
  60. 60Core, 3 min Each region's sharePick the tool
  61. 61Advanced, 3 min Case: the supplier reportCase, five steps
  62. 62Advanced, 3 min Case: the monthly budgetCase, five steps
  63. 63Advanced, 3 min Case: the reorder listCase, five steps

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