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Numbers

This page provides guidelines for formatting numbers, dates, times, and null values in the Basis design system.

Ready

Numbers

This page provides guidelines for formatting numbers, dates, times, and null values in the Basis design system.

Range

When representing a range or span of numbers, use an en dash with no space between the two values.

Do

Do

10–12

$1.10–$5.60

02/22/17–03/30/17

Don't

Don't

10-12

$1.10 – $5.60

02/22/17β€”03/30/17

Phone numbers

Use parentheses to separate the area code and a hyphen between the last two sets of numbers. Use the country code only for numbers outside of the US and Canada.

Do

Do

(312) 456-7890

+44 (312) 456-7890

Don't

Don't

312-456-7890

312.456.7890

Date and time

For forms and tables, use the numeric format with numbers separated by a forward slash. The month should appear first.

  • mm/dd/yy

  • 02/06/17

For communication (activity feed, message center, notifications), use abbreviated text for the month. Do not use a β€œ0” in front of days with only one digit. Avoid omitting the year unless completly necessary.

  • Feb 6, 2023

  • May 22, 2020

  • Jul 8, 2016

For time, use numerals and am or pm in lowercase without a space.

  • 9:00am

  • 3:30pm

Join date and time using β€œat."

  • Feb 6 at 9:00am

  • Jul 8, 2016 at 3:30pm

Abbreviate time zones and include only when necessary.

  • 3:30pm CT

  • Feb 6, 2023 at 9:00am ET

  • Jul 8, 2017 at 3:30pm PT

  • 10:04am MT

Use "data as of:" to indicate the freshness of the data.

  • data as of: Dec 4, 2022 at 12:00am CST

  • data as of: 3:30pm

  • data as of yesterday

Use "data thru" to indicated the date range of a data set.

  • data thru: 01/10/23 - 02/12/23

Do

Do

01/02/17

Feb 6, 2023

May 22, 2023 at 9:00am

3:30pm CT

Don't

Don't

1/2/2017

February 6

9AM on May 22

3:30pm CST

Null values

Use a double-dash (--) if there could be data / information but it is not yet collected. Use n/a when it is not possible to have a value for the field. For CSV or XLS downloads, leave all null fields blank rather than including the double-dash or n/a.

Do

Do

-- media spend
n/a media spend
n/a data spend
-- total spend

Don't

Don't

n/a media spend
n/a media spend
n/a data spend
n/a total spend

Number formats

Numbers with more than three digits get commas.

6,938,124

For monetary values, use the currency sign in front of the amount and two decimal places to the right.

$16,000.00

One exception applies when you need to represent a particular level of accuracy (for example, rates fields in the Planning grid).

30.0000%

$5.2000

Use hyphens to represent negative numbers.

-$12.50

When using a numeric value in a sentence, use the digit instead of spelling out the word.

Do

Do

  • 112,983

  • $100,000.00

  • -$2,003.76

  • There are 5 performance issues

Don't

Don't

  • 112983

  • $100000

  • $100k

  • ($2,003.76)

  • There are five performance issues

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Need more guidance?

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Β© 2025 Basis Technologies
Β© 2025 Basis Technologies
Β© 2025 Basis Technologies