diff --git a/src/core/time.rs b/src/core/time.rs
index 376ea2d..9f59601 100644
--- a/src/core/time.rs
+++ b/src/core/time.rs
@@ -59,6 +59,22 @@ pub fn parse_since(input: &str) -> Option<i64> {
     iso_to_ms(input)
 }
 
+/// Convert ISO 8601 timestamp to milliseconds with strict error handling.
+/// Returns Err with a descriptive message if the timestamp is invalid.
+pub fn iso_to_ms_strict(iso_string: &str) -> Result<i64, String> {
+    DateTime::parse_from_rfc3339(iso_string)
+        .map(|dt| dt.timestamp_millis())
+        .map_err(|_| format!("Invalid timestamp: {}", iso_string))
+}
+
+/// Convert optional ISO 8601 timestamp to optional milliseconds (strict).
+pub fn iso_to_ms_opt_strict(iso_string: &Option<String>) -> Result<Option<i64>, String> {
+    match iso_string {
+        Some(s) => iso_to_ms_strict(s).map(Some),
+        None => Ok(None),
+    }
+}
+
 /// Format milliseconds epoch to human-readable full datetime.
 pub fn format_full_datetime(ms: i64) -> String {
     DateTime::from_timestamp_millis(ms)
diff --git a/src/gitlab/transformers/discussion.rs b/src/gitlab/transformers/discussion.rs
index 78aceee..7123d2e 100644
--- a/src/gitlab/transformers/discussion.rs
+++ b/src/gitlab/transformers/discussion.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 //! Discussion and note transformers: convert GitLab discussions to local schema.
 
-use chrono::DateTime;
-
-use crate::core::time::now_ms;
+use crate::core::time::{iso_to_ms, iso_to_ms_strict, now_ms};
 use crate::gitlab::types::{GitLabDiscussion, GitLabNote};
 
 /// Reference to the parent noteable (Issue or MergeRequest).
@@ -60,16 +58,9 @@ pub struct NormalizedNote {
     pub position_head_sha: Option<String>, // Head commit SHA for diff
 }
 
-/// Parse ISO 8601 timestamp to milliseconds, returning None on failure.
-fn parse_timestamp_opt(ts: &str) -> Option<i64> {
-    DateTime::parse_from_rfc3339(ts)
-        .ok()
-        .map(|dt| dt.timestamp_millis())
-}
-
 /// Parse ISO 8601 timestamp to milliseconds, defaulting to 0 on failure.
 fn parse_timestamp(ts: &str) -> i64 {
-    parse_timestamp_opt(ts).unwrap_or(0)
+    iso_to_ms(ts).unwrap_or(0)
 }
 
 /// Transform a GitLab discussion into normalized schema.
@@ -90,7 +81,7 @@ pub fn transform_discussion(
     let note_timestamps: Vec<i64> = gitlab_discussion
         .notes
         .iter()
-        .filter_map(|n| parse_timestamp_opt(&n.created_at))
+        .filter_map(|n| iso_to_ms(&n.created_at))
         .collect();
 
     let first_note_at = note_timestamps.iter().min().copied();
@@ -191,7 +182,7 @@ fn transform_single_note(
         resolved_at: note
             .resolved_at
             .as_ref()
-            .and_then(|ts| parse_timestamp_opt(ts)),
+            .and_then(|ts| iso_to_ms(ts)),
         position_old_path,
         position_new_path,
         position_old_line,
@@ -244,13 +235,6 @@ fn extract_position_fields(
     }
 }
 
-/// Parse ISO 8601 timestamp to milliseconds with strict error handling.
-/// Returns Err with the invalid timestamp in the error message.
-fn parse_timestamp_strict(ts: &str) -> Result<i64, String> {
-    DateTime::parse_from_rfc3339(ts)
-        .map(|dt| dt.timestamp_millis())
-        .map_err(|_| format!("Invalid timestamp: {}", ts))
-}
 
 /// Transform notes from a GitLab discussion with strict timestamp parsing.
 /// Returns Err if any timestamp is invalid - no silent fallback to 0.
@@ -275,10 +259,10 @@ fn transform_single_note_strict(
     now: i64,
 ) -> Result<NormalizedNote, String> {
     // Parse timestamps with strict error handling
-    let created_at = parse_timestamp_strict(&note.created_at)?;
-    let updated_at = parse_timestamp_strict(&note.updated_at)?;
+    let created_at = iso_to_ms_strict(&note.created_at)?;
+    let updated_at = iso_to_ms_strict(&note.updated_at)?;
     let resolved_at = match &note.resolved_at {
-        Some(ts) => Some(parse_timestamp_strict(ts)?),
+        Some(ts) => Some(iso_to_ms_strict(ts)?),
         None => None,
     };
 
diff --git a/src/gitlab/transformers/merge_request.rs b/src/gitlab/transformers/merge_request.rs
index 650df40..3654c02 100644
--- a/src/gitlab/transformers/merge_request.rs
+++ b/src/gitlab/transformers/merge_request.rs
@@ -1,33 +1,8 @@
 //! Merge request transformer: converts GitLabMergeRequest to local schema.
 
-use chrono::DateTime;
-use std::time::{SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
-
+use crate::core::time::{iso_to_ms_opt_strict, iso_to_ms_strict, now_ms};
 use crate::gitlab::types::GitLabMergeRequest;
 
-/// Get current time in milliseconds since Unix epoch.
-fn now_ms() -> i64 {
-    SystemTime::now()
-        .duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH)
-        .expect("Time went backwards")
-        .as_millis() as i64
-}
-
-/// Parse ISO 8601 timestamp to milliseconds since Unix epoch.
-fn iso_to_ms(ts: &str) -> Result<i64, String> {
-    DateTime::parse_from_rfc3339(ts)
-        .map(|dt| dt.timestamp_millis())
-        .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to parse timestamp '{}': {}", ts, e))
-}
-
-/// Parse optional ISO 8601 timestamp to optional milliseconds since Unix epoch.
-fn iso_to_ms_opt(ts: &Option<String>) -> Result<Option<i64>, String> {
-    match ts {
-        Some(s) => iso_to_ms(s).map(Some),
-        None => Ok(None),
-    }
-}
-
 /// Local schema representation of a merge request row.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct NormalizedMergeRequest {
@@ -77,12 +52,12 @@ pub fn transform_merge_request(
     local_project_id: i64,
 ) -> Result<MergeRequestWithMetadata, String> {
     // Parse required timestamps
-    let created_at = iso_to_ms(&gitlab_mr.created_at)?;
-    let updated_at = iso_to_ms(&gitlab_mr.updated_at)?;
+    let created_at = iso_to_ms_strict(&gitlab_mr.created_at)?;
+    let updated_at = iso_to_ms_strict(&gitlab_mr.updated_at)?;
 
     // Parse optional timestamps
-    let merged_at = iso_to_ms_opt(&gitlab_mr.merged_at)?;
-    let closed_at = iso_to_ms_opt(&gitlab_mr.closed_at)?;
+    let merged_at = iso_to_ms_opt_strict(&gitlab_mr.merged_at)?;
+    let closed_at = iso_to_ms_opt_strict(&gitlab_mr.closed_at)?;
 
     // Draft: prefer draft, fallback to work_in_progress
     let is_draft = gitlab_mr.draft || gitlab_mr.work_in_progress;