How do you handle it when a client's data is a mess?

jamal_w

about 2 months ago

Working on my first build and the client's lead spreadsheet has inconsistent columns, missing fields, duplicate entries, the works. The automation logic itself is simple but the messy data is making everything harder than expected. Anyone have a system for this?

3 replies

Replies (3)

t_nguyen·about 2 months ago

I now do a quick 15-minute data review before quoting anything, specifically to catch this. Doesn't fully solve it but at least you can price for it upfront.

kaylee_r·about 2 months ago

For genuinely messy data I've started adding a cleanup step at the start of the workflow rather than trying to make the automation handle every inconsistency downstream.

brookeonabudget·about 2 months ago

This is basically the hidden cost of this hustle that nobody mentions in the pitch. Budget extra time for it on every new client until proven otherwise.