In Excel: turn on File ▸ Options ▸ Customize Ribbon ▸ Developer, then Developer ▸ Insert ▸ Check Box (Form Control), and link each box to a cell so its TRUE/FALSE can be counted.
On Microsoft 365: select the cells and choose Insert ▸ Checkbox. The cell value is the state — no linking needed.
On other versions: File ▸ Options ▸ Customize Ribbon ▸ tick Developer, then Developer ▸ Insert ▸ Check Box (Form Control).
Right-click the box ▸ Format Control ▸ Cell link, and point it at the cell behind or beside it.
Copy the box down the column, then fix each linked cell — Form Control copies do NOT re-point their links automatically.
Add a progress formula: =COUNTIF(B2:B20, TRUE) & " of " & ROWS(B2:B20).
Add Conditional Formatting on the task text with the rule =$B2=TRUE to strike through what is done.
What this does
A checklist in Excel is a list of tasks plus a column of check boxes, and the part that makes it useful is the LINKED CELL. A check box on its own is a floating graphic that no formula can see; give it a linked cell and that cell holds TRUE or FALSE, which COUNTIF can count and conditional formatting can react to. Excel for Microsoft 365 added a far simpler route — Insert ▸ Checkbox puts a real checkbox INTO the cell, so the cell itself is TRUE or FALSE with nothing to link — and where it is available it is the better choice. The older Form Control route still applies to every other version. The third option, a data-validation drop-down of ✓ and blank, needs no controls at all and survives filtering and sorting, which floating check boxes do not. Keep the inputs visible and clearly labelled and the whole thing stays auditable — anyone who opens the file later, including you, can see at a glance exactly what feeds the result and change one assumption without hunting through the formula. For “quality control checklist template excel”, the reliable version is a short checking loop, not just the first command that appears to work. Run it on a deliberately small range first, watch how the affected list change, and only then apply the same setup to the full sheet. When a formula is involved, keep the inputs labelled beside it, reference cells instead of typing values, and apply number formatting only after the result checks out. That is what makes a workflow that saves repeating the same clicks every week useful in real work: repeatable, auditable, and not dependent on memory or luck.
A worked example
Tasks in A2:A20. With the 365 checkbox: select B2:B20, Insert ▸ Checkbox. The cells now hold TRUE/FALSE directly. In D1: =COUNTIF(B2:B20, TRUE) & " of " & ROWS(B2:B20) & " done" shows "7 of 19 done". Select A2:A20 ▸ Conditional Formatting ▸ New Rule ▸ Use a formula ▸ =$B2=TRUE ▸ Format ▸ Strikethrough, and completed tasks cross themselves out. The tick is the easy half; the linked cell is what turns a decorated list into something that can report its own progress. If there is any chance you will reuse this, drop it into a small template tab right now: a labelled input area on the left and the formula beside it, checked once against the tool above. Next time the same question comes up, the answer is a single paste away instead of a rebuild from memory.
In Google Sheets
If you are in Google Sheets rather than Excel, the good news is that the formula shown here is identical and the workflow barely changes — menus sit across the top instead of in a ribbon, and a few function names differ slightly, but anything you build here moves across with little or no rework. Keep this page bookmarked for the next time the same question comes up. Better still, rebuild the example once in your own sheet — doing it yourself, with the tool above to check against, is what turns a copied formula into a technique you own. The short version of “quality control checklist template excel”: the answer is at the top of this page, the tool proves it on your own numbers, and the sections above explain why it holds so the next variation does not stump you. Excel rewards people who reference cells instead of typing values and who keep inputs separate from formulas, because that is what makes a result you can audit months later. Build it once, deliberately, with the live tool as a check, and you convert a one-off lookup into a reusable skill — which is the whole point of learning the why and not just the what.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a formula to read a check box that has no linked cell — nothing can see it.
- Copying Form Control boxes down and leaving every one of them linked to the same cell, so they all tick together.
- Sorting or filtering a list with floating check boxes, which stay where they are while the rows move under them.
- Counting the linked column with
COUNTA— every cell holds TRUE or FALSE, so the count is always the full row count. UseCOUNTIF(range, TRUE). - Hiding the linked column and then wondering why the count column shows an error after someone deletes it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a checklist in Excel?
Put the tasks in one column and check boxes beside them: Insert ▸ Checkbox on Microsoft 365, or Developer ▸ Insert ▸ Check Box with a linked cell on other versions.
How do I count how many items are ticked?
=COUNTIF(B2:B20, TRUE) over the linked cells. COUNTA counts every cell, ticked or not.
How do I cross out a completed task?
Conditional Formatting ▸ New Rule ▸ Use a formula ▸ =$B2=TRUE ▸ Format ▸ Font ▸ Strikethrough, applied to the task column.
Can I make a checklist without the Developer tab?
Yes — either Insert ▸ Checkbox on Microsoft 365, or a data-validation drop-down offering ✓ and blank, which also survives sorting and filtering.
Other ways people ask this
On the way here you may have searched this as “excel checklist template with checkbox”, “competency checklist template excel”, “onboarding checklist template excel” and “audit checklist template excel” — it is all the same task, and this page is the single, complete answer to it.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “excel checklist template with checkbox”, “competency checklist template excel”, “onboarding checklist template excel” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.