Bank CSV dates wrong in Google Sheets: 06/03 read as 3 June
You open a UK bank CSV in Google Sheets and the dates are left-aligned text, will not sort, or have quietly turned into the wrong day. A bank date such as 06/03/2026 means 6 March in the UK, and a sheet set to a US locale will read it as 3 June.
Why it happens
When you import a CSV with Convert text to numbers, dates and formulas ticked, Sheets parses each date using the spreadsheet's locale. A US-locale sheet reads 06/03/2026 as month first. Dates with a day above 12, such as 25/03/2026, cannot be month first, so they stay as text. The result is a column that is part real dates (some of them wrong) and part text.
Check by hand first
- In File › Settings, set the locale to United Kingdom before you import.
- Import with File › Import › Upload and untick Convert text to numbers, dates and formulas, so the dates arrive exactly as the bank wrote them.
- Pick a transaction you remember and check its date in the sheet.
- Sort the date column. If the order is jumbled, some cells are text.
What the add-on does
UK Bank CSV Cleaner finds dates stored as text (BK-07) and lists every date that reads two ways before anything is written. You choose the convention (day first for a UK bank file), and the sidebar shows the exact cell changes in a preview. A value it cannot read is left alone, not guessed.
Two related shapes are reported rather than rewritten silently. Year-less dates such as 30 Sep, and two-digit years, need a year you supply (BK-05). A date and time in one cell is flagged (BK-06).
The scan and every explanation are free. Applying the date fix is a Pro feature, and Undo is free in every tier.
Check the file before you trust it
UK Bank CSV Cleaner scans a UK bank CSV, or a sheet you are about to upload, and explains every finding. The full scan, every explanation and Undo are free, and your data stays in your Google™ account. It edits the spreadsheet only and never connects to your bank or to an accounting package.
About UK Bank CSV Cleaner — not yet on the Google Workspace™ Marketplace.
Google, Google Sheets™ and Google Workspace™ are trademarks of Google LLC. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Starling Bank, Monzo, Xero Limited, Intuit Inc. or The Sage Group plc. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Starling, Monzo, Xero, QuickBooks and Sage are trademarks of their respective owners and are used only to describe compatible file formats. UK Bank CSV Cleaner is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.