Make date formats explicit before converting
04/03/2026 can describe two different days. A useful formatter asks you to choose the source convention rather than guessing.
Find the source convention
Check the export documentation or a record whose day exceeds 12. A value such as 21/03/2026 demonstrates day-first ordering, but it does not establish that every record follows that convention. If the dataset combines exports from different regions, separate those sources before conversion.
Use a format with a reproducible interpretation
Selecting DD/MM/YYYY makes 04/03/2026 mean 4 March. Selecting MM/DD/YYYY makes it mean April 3. Rowlane accepts exactly two digits for day and month, and four for year. It does not run a browser’s general date parser, which can interpret nonstandard strings differently across implementations.
Keep invalid values visible
The formatter validates month lengths and Gregorian leap years. It accepts 2024-02-29 and rejects 2025-02-29. It leaves 31/02/2026 unchanged and includes it in the exception log. An empty date also remains empty and is listed for review. This protects the source value while making unresolved records visible.
Know when this tool does not apply
An Excel serial number, a timestamp ending in Z, and a phrase such as next Friday are not calendar dates in one of the supported formats. They need a different conversion process. Rowlane never shifts a date by a time-zone offset. Review the result and exceptions together before importing into a system with its own date requirements.