Two exports may describe the same kind of record while placing their columns in different orders. Copying their cells beneath one another by position risks putting an amount under a date heading. An append should preserve each field's meaning as it stacks the records.

For a small test, make one table with Ticket, Date and Units, and another with Units, Ticket and Date. Give each table a distinctive ticket and quantity. Add an optional Comment field to only one source so the test also includes a genuinely missing field.

Compare the headers before combining

Power Query appends according to column names, not their positions. The result includes the headers found across the source tables; when a source lacks a field, its corresponding result cells contain null. In the editor, Home, Append Queries as New creates a combined query while leaving the two source queries unchanged. The dialog supports two tables or a list of three or more.

Inspect both schemas first. A header called Units in one export and Qty in the other will need an intentional alignment decision if they mean the same thing. Conversely, identical Amount headers do not establish that the values use the same currency or include the same components.

Use the new combined query for the trial. Find the distinctive tickets and verify their dates and quantities against the original tables. The reversed column order should not reverse the fields' meanings.

Account for missing fields and repeated records

Check that null comments belong to the source that did not supply comments. Missing information should remain recognisable; replacing every null with a convenient value can invent an answer the export never contained.

Reconcile the combined row count against the intended source records. Appending the same reporting period twice is a source-selection problem even when every column aligns perfectly. Keep an inventory of which exports contributed, including their periods and whether one is a revised replacement.

Before delivering the combined table, confirm field types, units and identifier conventions across the complete input set. Retain the source queries and the header-alignment decisions so the next export can be checked against the same schema rather than accepted because it has a familiar filename.

Sources: Microsoft: append queries.