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Date format with Text formula

Our take

Are you frustrated with inconsistent date formats in your spreadsheet? You're not alone—many encounter this challenge while trying to streamline financial data. In your case, the TEXT formula should ideally standardize dates to mm/dd/yyyy, but unexpected variations can arise from the way data is copied and pasted. Let's explore why certain entries resist formatting consistency and uncover practical solutions to ensure your records align seamlessly. Stick around to discover tips that will transform your data management process for good!

Hi all,

Only semi-relevant: I created a template for my bookkeeper to use for our business credit card, to pull out the card holder names for each transaction. I have two tabs... one where she copies-and-pastes the transactions that come from the bank website, and one where she copies-and-pastes exported data from our accounting software. The accounting software report shows all transactions that are missing receipts, but no card holder names. She uses the credit card report to add card holder names to those. I added a helper column on each to pull out the date and amount, so the info on each sheet can be matched up.

My issue is on the tab where the credit card transactions are pasted. The helper column (column A) formula is:

=IF(E2<>"",TEXT(C2,"mm/dd/yyyy")&E2,TEXT(C2,"mm/dd/yyyy")&F2)

I had to include the text formula when referencing the date column because random cells were pasting in the numerical date format - inconsistent with the other lines. See row 43 on in the image below. All of the data was copied-and-pasted from the same report, at the same time. All cells are in the same number format (General). It's the same result for these cells if I just do =TEXT(cell,"mm/dd/yyyy") to pull the date. Why wouldn't the text formula result in the mm/dd/yyyy format for the numerical dates - and why would these random lines be different when copied and pasted all at once from the same .csv source?

https://preview.redd.it/x0laqiblxbhg1.png?width=831&format=png&auto=webp&s=7e2407579c2a3f8ae673d70a0f61c2daac1bbe1d

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