diff --git a/src/pantab/writer.cpp b/src/pantab/writer.cpp
index 3c1004b3..baa65781 100644
--- a/src/pantab/writer.cpp
+++ b/src/pantab/writer.cpp
@@ -360,9 +360,21 @@ class DecimalInsertHelper : public InsertHelper {
     std::string str{reinterpret_cast<const char *>(buffer.data),
                     static_cast<size_t>(buffer.size_bytes)};
     // The Hyper API wants the string to include the decimal place, which
-    // nanoarrow does not provide
-    if (scale_ > 0)
-      str = str.insert(str.size() - scale_, 1, '.');
+    // nanoarrow does not provide.
+    if (scale_ > 0) {
+      // nanoarrow strips leading zeros
+      const auto insert_pos = static_cast<int64_t>(str.size()) - scale_;
+      if (insert_pos < 0) {
+        std::string newstr{};
+        newstr.reserve(str.size() - insert_pos + 1);
+        newstr.append(1, '.');
+        newstr.append(-insert_pos, '0');
+        newstr.append(str);
+        str = std::move(newstr);
+      } else {
+        str = str.insert(str.size() - scale_, 1, '.');
+      }
+    }
 
     constexpr auto PrecisionLimit = 39; // of-by-one error in solution?
     if (precision_ >= PrecisionLimit) {
diff --git a/tests/test_roundtrip.py b/tests/test_roundtrip.py
index e797c83c..95710311 100644
--- a/tests/test_roundtrip.py
+++ b/tests/test_roundtrip.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import decimal
 import sys
 
 import pandas as pd
@@ -154,3 +155,21 @@ def test_roundtrip_works_without_tableauhyperapi(frame, tmp_hyper, monkeypatch):
 
     pt.frame_to_hyper(frame, tmp_hyper, table="foo")
     pt.frames_from_hyper(tmp_hyper)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "value,precision,scale",
+    [
+        ("0.00", 3, 2),
+        ("0E-10", 3, 2),
+        ("100", 3, 0),
+        ("1.00", 3, 2),
+        (".001", 3, 3),
+    ],
+)
+def test_decimal_roundtrip(tmp_hyper, value, precision, scale, compat):
+    arr = pa.array([decimal.Decimal(value)], type=pa.decimal128(precision, scale))
+    tbl = pa.Table.from_arrays([arr], names=["col"])
+    pt.frame_to_hyper(tbl, tmp_hyper, table="test")
+    result = pt.frame_from_hyper(tmp_hyper, table="test", return_type="pyarrow")
+    compat.assert_frame_equal(result, tbl)