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Fix numbers stored as text

The little green triangle in Excel means a number is stored as text, and SUM quietly skips it. Exports make it common: currency symbols, thousands separators, negative amounts in brackets, a minus sign at the end, or European commas.

Each column is read in its own format, decided from the values rather than from your language settings. “$41,880.00” becomes 41880, “($39.98)” becomes −39.98, and identifiers such as SKUs, ZIP codes and account numbers deliberately stay text so their leading zeros survive.

Drop files here

or browse your files

XLSX, XLS, CSV, TXT, PDF · up to 25 MB · 1 file without an account

Or try a sample:

Example: before and after

“1,200” is the integer 1,200, “$34.90” is 34.90 and “($39.98)” is −39.98; the SKU column stays text.

Beforeorder-lines.csv
1SKUDescriptionQtyUnit priceAmount
2A-100Laptop stand1,200$34.90$41,880.00
3A-101USB-C hub15$19.99$299.85
4A-102Returned hub-2$19.99($39.98)
5A-103Desk mat40$12.50$500.00
After4 rows
SKUDescriptionQtyUnit priceAmount
A-100Laptop stand1,20034.9041,880.00
A-101USB-C hub1519.99299.85
A-102Returned hub-219.99-39.98
A-103Desk mat4012.50500.00

How to do it

  1. 1Drop the file.
  2. 2If a column could mean two things — is “1,234” one thousand or 1.234? — you choose once, with a preview.
  3. 3Download XLSX with real numbers, or CSV with the decimal separator you need.

Questions

Do you support European formats like 1.234,56?
Yes — and 1 234,56, 1’234.56, “1,234.56-”, “€1.234,00” and “1,234 USD”. The format is decided per column from the data, so a German export and a US export can be cleaned the same day.
What happens to the currency symbol?
The amount becomes a number. If one column mixes currencies, the currency moves to its own column so nothing is lost.
Will account numbers or ZIP codes turn into numbers too?
No. Identifiers stay text, including leading zeros and long numbers over 15 digits that Excel would otherwise round.

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