Choose a CSV delimiter that survives the recipient's import settings

Choose a format the recipient can parse

Test the actual import route so a clean export does not arrive as one long column or a broken set of rows.

ParseMill exports reviewed invoices to Excel with separate summaries, line items, sources and review status. You can import an XLSX or CSV template and save a client setup. Run a real invoice through to the final workbook and check it in the application that receives your work.

Prefer a controlled import with a preview when the receiving workflow supports one. A successful double-click on the sender’s computer does not establish how the recipient’s application will parse the same bytes.

Use a delimiter decision card

The fixture’s description can be “Valve, brass” so the test covers quoting as well as delimiter choice. A semicolon alternative is possible only if both writer and recipient are configured for that dialect. Changing the filename extension alone does not change the file’s structure. Inspect the actual separator bytes before choosing the import setting.

Microsoft: Text/CSV connector documents delimiter, encoding and type-detection settings. Inspect all three in the preview because correcting one does not automatically correct the others.

Verify the receiving import path

1. Ask which application and import process will consume the file. Record the agreed dialect and whether the process permits explicit types.
2. Generate a small synthetic fixture using the same export path as the real data. Include the delimiter inside a quoted description and non-ASCII text.
3. Have the recipient import with the declared delimiter and encoding. Check headers, logical record count, column count and exact identifier strings.
4. Save the successful settings with the delivery instructions and repeat the check after application or export changes.

Python: CSV reading and writing supports named dialects and explicit delimiter settings. A programmatic consumer should use those declared settings instead of a simplistic split operation.

Avoid workarounds that change data

Replacing every comma in the file with a semicolon can alter descriptions and decimal notation as well as separators. If the delimiter must change, parse the original and write a new file using the target dialect. Keep the transformation separate from the source data.

Do not assume that a spreadsheet’s system separator is shared across the team. Record the import procedure that worked in the recipient’s environment rather than prescribing an unverified global setting change.

Close with a reproducible handoff

For the fixture, the recipient should see three columns, one intact comma-bearing description, readable unit characters and the exact identifier 0012. Record the result and keep the fixture available for future compatibility checks.

The invoice workspace exports XLSX. If the recipient needs CSV, convert a reviewed workbook through your chosen spreadsheet workflow and test its delimiter settings with this fixture. Judge ParseMill on the complete path to the file your recipient can use.