Build an import checklist from actual rules
A structurally valid CSV can still violate the receiving system’s rules. Turn those requirements into explicit checks.
Start with the receiving system
Write down required fields, unique identifiers, accepted date formats, and numeric limits. A customer import may need an email-shaped value, while an inventory import may allow an empty email column entirely. Rowlane does not fetch a destination schema; your selected rules are the contract it can test.
Check one column deliberately
For qty values 2, -1, and 12, choose Number with minimum 0 and maximum 10. Two records need review. The bounds are inclusive, so 0 and 10 pass. Numbers must use plain decimal or exponent notation: a value such as $1,200 is not silently interpreted as 1200. Choose a different column and export another report when the next rule is ready.
Separate format from real-world truth
An email-shape check can identify a missing at sign or a blank domain suffix. It cannot confirm the mailbox exists or belongs to the person in the row. A valid calendar date can still be the wrong birthday. Required and unique rules likewise test data shape; use domain knowledge for the remaining business checks.
Review the download settings
CSV quoting protects delimiters and quotes, but does not by itself stop a spreadsheet from interpreting a formula. Rowlane enables a best-effort formula guard by default. It prefixes recognized formula starters such as equals, plus, minus, at, and common full-width variants with an apostrophe. That changes the literal exported value and can also alter negative numeric text. Keep it on for a review copy; turn it off only when you trust the data and the receiving system needs the unmodified strings. Spreadsheet apps can handle these characters differently, so this is not a universal guarantee. Inspect the file in its intended destination.