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Tips, tutorials, and guides for cleaning your data. Learn how to fix common CSV and Excel issues.
Two Shopify product CSV errors block more imports than any others: 'illegal quoting in line X' and 'options are not unique'. Here's what each one actually means and how to fix the underlying rows.
QuickBooks Online accepts bank transactions in exactly two CSV layouts: a 3-column format with a single signed Amount, or a 4-column format with separate Credit and Debit columns. Here is how to tell which one your bank export is closest to and convert to either.
Mail merge failures almost always trace back to the spreadsheet, not Word or Gmail. Here is exactly how to clean your contact list so every letter and email comes out right the first time.
Excel silently strips leading zeros from ZIP codes, SKUs, and phone numbers, and turns long IDs into scientific notation, the moment you open a CSV. Here's why it happens and how to keep your data intact.
The WooCommerce product importer rejects files for invalid file types, unmapped columns, bad encoding, and malformed booleans. Here's what each error actually means and how to fix your CSV fast.
Blank rows are one of the most common reasons CSV imports fail validation. The catch: most of them are invisible. Here's how to find and remove all three types.
Your CSV looks clean in Excel, but the importer disagrees. Invisible leading and trailing spaces are usually why. Here's how to remove every one.
Date columns are the number-one cause of import errors — every destination wants a different format, and Excel changes dates behind your back. Here's how to get it right.
When an import fails at the field-mapping step, the data is usually fine — the headers aren't. Here's how to normalize column headers so mapping just works.
Reports from banks, ERPs, and analytics tools wrap your data in title rows, subtotals, and footer notes. Here's how to strip the non-data rows before importing.
Mailchimp is strict about how your contact file is formatted. Here are the five issues that quietly break imports and how to clean your list before you upload.
eBay's File Exchange and Seller Hub bulk uploads fail for predictable reasons. Here's what each error actually means and how to fix your CSV before re-uploading.
Removing duplicates sounds simple until case sensitivity and trailing spaces let copies slip through. Here's how to deduplicate a CSV reliably.
When a CSV opens with every value crammed into the first column, the delimiter and your regional settings disagree. Here's how to fix it in minutes.
PayPal exports and QuickBooks bank-import formats almost never line up. Here's how to reshape a PayPal CSV so QuickBooks accepts it on the first try.
When accents turn into é and apostrophes become ’, your file's encoding got crossed. Here's what causes mojibake and how to recover clean text.
Shopify's product CSV importer is strict in unexpected ways. Here's what every common error means and how to fix your file before re-uploading.
Saving an Excel file as CSV is easy to get wrong — the default option mangles accents and drops leading zeros. Here's how to export a clean UTF-8 CSV.
Mixed date formats in one column quietly corrupt imports and reports. Here's how to detect the formats present and convert them all to one standard.
Google Contacts rejects imports with a vague "wrong format" message and no details. Here are the real causes and how to fix each one.
HubSpot's contact import looks straightforward until it isn't. Here's what every common error means and how to clean your CSV before re-uploading.
Salesforce Data Loader's success file looks like victory until you check the error file. Here's how to decode the errors and clean your CSV before re-running.
Xero handles bank, invoice, and contact CSV imports differently — and they all fail differently. Here's a per-type guide to cleaning your file before upload.
European-format numbers (1.234,56) look almost right to US-locale software — and that's what makes them dangerous. Here's how to convert them cleanly.
Encoding bugs are the worst kind of CSV problem because they hide in plain sight. Here's how to find them and fix them once and for all.
Stripe's CSV export is built for engineers, not bookkeepers. Here's how to convert it into something QuickBooks or Xero will actually accept.
Bank CSV exports never match what accounting software expects. Here's a per-bank guide to cleaning Chase, Wells Fargo, BoA, and other exports for QuickBooks, Xero, and Wave.
Amazon's bulk upload is picky. Here are the most common errors and how to fix them before you waste another hour re-uploading.
QuickBooks CSV imports fail for predictable reasons. Here's how to diagnose and fix the most common errors without pulling your hair out.
Every vendor sends product data differently. Here's how to wrangle them all into one consistent format for your inventory system.
Your bank shows deposits, Stripe shows individual payments. Here's how to combine them into a single cash flow view that actually makes sense.