Keep leading zeroes when cleaning and exporting data
Postcodes, order numbers and account references can look numeric while functioning as text. Preserve them as identifiers throughout the workflow.
Separate identifiers from amounts
An order ID 00123 is a label; an amount 123.00 is a quantity. Select only genuine amount columns for number formatting. FolioTern leaves ordinary imported text cells untouched unless you choose a relevant cleanup rule.
Understand what a source can preserve
CSV contains characters without cell types. An XLSX cell may already have been stored as a number, so custom formatting such as 00000 is not a reliable source of the original text. Once the source has discarded leading zeroes or rounded a long number, an importer cannot reconstruct them reliably.
Choose the export intentionally
FolioTern’s spreadsheet XLSX export stores every cell as text. That keeps identifiers and long numeric-looking strings exact and prevents formula-like strings from executing. Amounts will also be text; convert the amount columns in the destination if you need calculations.
Open CSV with column types
Opening CSV by double-click can make spreadsheet software infer number types. Use its text/CSV import flow and mark identifier columns as text, or choose the XLSX export. Keep the original export for comparison.