Messy Data Rescue Kit
Spreadsheet templates for cleaning up messy CSV exports — six working documents that make handling exports from a CRM, billing tool, survey, or client repeatable instead of improvised.
What's included
- Data request intake form — pin down purpose, source, exact fields, scope, as-of date, granularity, definitions, delivery format, and acceptance criteria before anyone pulls an extract.
- Data dictionary template — one row per column: type, required or not, allowed values, an example, and who owns the field.
- CSV import QA checklist — twelve pre-import checks for the failure modes that actually corrupt imports (encoding, delimiters, ragged rows, duplicates, date formats, and more), each with why it matters, how to verify it, and what to do if it fails.
- Data cleaning log — a session log for cleanup work: what was wrong, what you did, how many rows it touched, how it was verified.
- Column-mapping worksheet — for migrating data between systems: source field, target field, transformation, null handling, and target type.
- Recurring-import runbook — eight ordered steps for scheduled imports, cross-referenced with the QA checklist and cleaning log.
Plus a one-page START-HERE guide mapping the six templates to a recommended workflow. Plain CSV files — open in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, or import into Notion. No software to install, no accounts, no lock-in.
See a real excerpt from the data dictionary template
| column_name | expected_type | required | allowed_values_or_format | example_value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| e.g. customer_id | integer | yes | positive, unique | 10482 |
| e.g. plan | text | yes | one of: free, pro, team | pro |
| e.g. postal_code | text | no | keep as text | 02115 |
Three of the built-in example rows from data-dictionary-template.csv, shown exactly
as they appear in the file (the "e.g." prefix marks rows meant as usage examples, not your data).
Three more columns in the real file — source_system, owner, and notes —
aren't shown here for width.
Usage: once purchased, use and edit these templates for as many of your own projects as you like — for yourself, your team, freelance clients, or your employer. Please don't resell, redistribute, or repackage the templates themselves as your own product.