Have you ever opened your spreadsheet only to find your carefully typed numbers missing their decimals, or worse, transformed into something like 2.95E+07? If yes, you’ve seen the downside of relying on Excel’s default General number format. It isn’t thatExcel is wrong and you should start considering dumping it for Sheets; it’s that the default format constantly makes assumptions about how your data should appear, especially when a column gets too narrow or when the values are even slightly complex.

Since that isn’t always ideal, I stopped letting Excel guess. I began formatting my cells intentionally, using a few number formats I return to repeatedly. That’s when my spreadsheets stopped falling apart.

Number

Sometimes plain numbers should just stay predictable

The Number format is what I use when I want my values to appear exactly as I intended, without scientific notation, unexpected rounding, or disappearing decimals. You can choose how many decimal places to display, whether your thousands get a comma, and how negative numbers should appear (minus sign, parentheses, or color).

Imagine you’re working with measurements, like product weights in kilograms or inventory counts. With the General format, one cell may show 1234.5, another 1234.50, and another might compress into something you can’t even read. When you apply the Number format with consistent decimal places, your entire column will look intentional and professional.

The key here is consistency. When a column contains measurements, inventory levels, calculated differences, or any figure that requires precision, I don’t want Excel deciding how those values should appear. I choose the Number format and specify exactly how my plain numbers should look.

Short or Long Date

For when your data needs to act like dates

Excel stores dates as numbers, which is why a date like 01/01/2025 can appear as 45658 when the General format is applied. This is exactly why Excel’s date formats matter. They tell Excel that you’re working with actual calendar dates, not just arbitrary numbers.

Short Date is the everyday option. It displays dates compactly (e.g., 01/01/2025), making it ideal for transaction records, delivery schedules, project logs, or any place where you need dates to be immediately recognizable without taking up much space. Long Date, on the other hand, is useful when clarity and formality matter. A format like Wednesday, October 1, 2025, looks appropriate in reports, stakeholder presentations, or anywhere a more descriptive style helps avoid confusion.

Once Excel recognizes data as dates, you can perform date-based calculations. This includes counting the number of days between two events, automatically highlighting overdue tasks, or sorting records by time period. None of these works reliably if Excel treats your dates as plain text or general numbers.

You should use a date format any time you're recording events, milestones, transactions, deadlines, or anything tied to a specific point in time. It is essential if you plan to calculate time differences orperform lightning-fast date-related lookups.

Basically, if it’s a date, I format it as a date. Always.

Currency or Accounting

Keep your money aligned

The Currency format is the most flexible of Excel’s two money formats. The currency symbol—whether it’s a dollar sign or whatever you specify—sits directly next to the number (for example, $150.00). You choose how many decimal places appear and how negative numbers are displayed, whether with a minus sign or in red. This format is ideal for everyday financial data, invoices, or budgets where you need clarity but not a professional layout.

The Accounting format is more formal. Here, the currency symbol aligns to the left side of the cell, and the decimal points, aligned to the right side of the cell, line up vertically down the column. For instance, the decimal part of $1,000,234.56 will align perfectly above $98.76, making comparisons easier at a glance. This format is especially useful in large financial statements or detailed budget sheets where consistency and readability are essential.

Both formats automatically include the comma separating thousands, but only Currency grants you full control over how your negative numbers appear. Ultimately, the decision comes down to how much formatting control you want.

Regardless of which you choose, using a dedicated money format is what makes scanning a long financial worksheet easy. It allows you to read, compare, and understand your figures without your eyes working overtime.

Text

A lifesaver for when Excel helps out a little too much

Excel is helpful; sometimes, a little too helpful. For example, if you paste a list of employee IDs that start with zeros, like 00456 or 01023, Excel may remove those leading zeros, leaving you with 456 and 1023, which can break your ID system. The same issue applies to product codes and long identification numbers that Excel converts into scientific notation (e.g., 2.95E+07) because it assumes they are ordinary numeric values, which are just too long to display.

When you format a cell (or range) as Text before entering data, Excel treats everything you type as literal text. 00456 stays 00456. I never leave postal codes, employee IDs, stock-keeping units (SKUs), phone numbers, database keys, or any value that looks numeric but is not intended for calculation set to General.

There is a trade-off, though. Cells formatted as Text will not participate in numeric calculations. If you format a cell (e.g., cell O5) as Text and type 5, Excel will store it as the text string "5", not the number 5. If you then perform aformula using any SUM function, like =SUM(O2:O10), Excel will ignore cell O5.

Percentage

Make your proportions clear at a glance

The Percentage format takes a decimal, multiplies it by 100, and slaps a percent sign on it. So 0.07 becomes 7%, and 0.725 becomes 72.5%, even though the underlying cell values remain 0.07 and 0.725 for your calculations.

This format is essential when you're working with proportions or rates, such as conversion rates, student test scores, tax rates, or profit margins. These figures make far more intuitive sense as percentages than as decimals. It is easier to understand 85% at a glance than 0.85, and most readers immediately recognize what that value represents without having to mentally convert it.

You can also choose how many decimal places the Percentage format displays. If your cell contains 0.085, you can show it as 9%, 8.5%, 8.50%, 8.500%, or any variation that suits you.

One common mistake is manually multiplying the values before applying the Percentage format. If a cell already contains 0.085, multiplying it by 100 first will turn it into 8.5, and applying the Percentage format afterward will display 850%, which is not what you want. Instead, enter the decimal and apply the Percentage format, or apply the format first and then enter your values. Either approach works, as long as you don’t perform the conversion yourself.

Custom

For when the defaults aren’t enough

By now, you've probably realized that Excel has you covered for most standard data types. But eventually, you'll run into something the built-in formats don’t quite handle. You might want to display large numbers in shorthand, like 1.5M instead of 1,500,000. Or maybe you need text included directly in the cell, such as 2000 units, 15 sq ft, or 3.5 kg. You may even want different formatting rules for positive, negative, and zero values.

This is where the Custom format comes in. It uses a code-based system that allows you to define your formats precisely. Here are a few codes I use regularly:

There is a learning curve here. The code can look like gibberish at first. However, Excel already includes many Custom codes you can study or modify. You rarely need to build anything from scratch; it’s usually a matter of adjusting something close to what you need. Excel also provides a liveSample preview in theFormat Cells window, so you can see exactly what your code will produce before applying it.

Once you’ve created a custom format, Excel saves it to your list, making it easy to reuse in future workbooks.

Excel’s number formats aren’t decorations

Excel communicates data, so the way your numbers are formatted determines whether your spreadsheet explains itself or requires constant clarification.Formatting your cells to make your data look nicer is important, but that's not where it ends. You need to tell Excel (and your audience) exactly what kind of information each cell contains.

The General format won’t always cause problems, but it will eventually. When it does, you’ll reach for one of these formats and remember that the few seconds you spend formatting your numbers can save hours of confusion, miscalculation, and unnecessary troubleshooting later.