Excel Number Stored as Text
Numeric-looking cells do not sum, sort or compare correctly.
LIKELY CAUSE
Why it happens
Confirm the cell type and decimal separator before conversion.
SAFE FIX
What to do
Use VALUE or import the column explicitly as numeric.
Debug in this order
- Reproduce the problem on the smallest sample that still fails.
- Inspect the exact keys, types, ranges or markup involved instead of only the displayed value.
- Fix the root cause, then rerun the original case and one known-good case.
- Document the rule if the same problem can return in recurring work.
Do not hide an unexplained data error with a cosmetic workaround. Make the input and matching logic predictable first.