Summary
Learn about the many date formats MindBridge can read.
Symptoms
During data validation, MindBridge lets you know that it has detected inconsistent date formats within the data you are trying to import.
Resolution
Ensure all dates that appear within the file appear using 1 consistent date format. Both numeral-only format and a mix of numerals and characters may be accepted.
Numeral format
If you use numbers to represent the day (DD), month (MM), and year (YY or YYYY), ensure they are separated by 1 of the following:
- A dash (-)
- A dot (.)
- A forward-slash (/)
For example, MindBridge will accept any of the following (as well as many other variations), as long as only 1 format is used throughout the entire dataset.
- 01/19/2022 (MM/DD/YYYY)
- 19-01-2022 (DD-MM-YYYY)
- 22.01.19 (YY.MM.DD)
If you want to include a timestamp at the end of the date, add the hours (hh), minutes (mm), seconds (ss), and optionally, milliseconds (SS or SSS), by ensuring each is separated by a colon (:). Additionally, you can apply am/pm indicators when using a 12-hour time format.
For example, 11:23:55:426 am (hh:mm:ss:SSS)+(am/pm).
Mix of numerals and characters
The dates in the dataset may also appear using full or partial words to indicate the day, month, or year.
For example, any of the following will be accepted (as well as many other variations), as long as only 1 format is used throughout the entire dataset.
- 2022Jan19 (YYYYAbbrMonthDD)
- 19 Jan, 2022 (DD AbbrMonth, YYYY)
- 2022, January 19th (YYYY, Month DD)
If the date format is ambiguous, there will be an option to specify the format during data ingestion on the account mapping page.
If you are still not sure if MindBridge will accept the date format used in your dataset, feel free to chat with the Customer Support Team.
Root cause
MindBridge can detect many date formats, but switching from MM/DD/YYYY to YY-DD-MM throughout the file can lead to import errors, while switching between formats, such as MM/DD/YY and DD/MM/YY, may cause MindBridge to read the data incorrectly.
Why this may be happening
Inconsistent date formatting can occur if...
- The ledger data was not exported all at once
- There was a discrepancy in the settings selected for each export
- The client changed ERPs in the middle of the year
- Somewhere in the file(s), dates were reformatted in Excel using the numeric format — MindBridge is unable to read dates when they appear in this format
Anything else on your mind? Chat with us or submit a request for further assistance.