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Most messy spreadsheets aren't messy in one obvious way. They're usually a stack of small problems: dates stored as text, repeated names with different spacing, blank cells that mean different things, and categories that drift over time.
That matters because a clean-looking total can still be built on inconsistent rows.
My rule is simple: normalize what can be verified, flag what can't, and leave a change log so the owner knows exactly what moved. No invented values and no mystery edits.
I now offer that as a fixed, two-day cleanup for one spreadsheet or CSV. If a file is slowing down a report, handoff, or decision, send me the rough row and column count and the part that keeps breaking. I'll tell you plainly whether it fits the scope.
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Clean and normalize a messy spreadsheet or CSV by Teagan Doherty
Read more about Clean and normalize a messy spreadsheet or CSV by Teagan Doherty on Contra.
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
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🪄 Set a few simple rules and let the schedule build itself. Fair, balanced planning without the manual work.
Nice work
Episode #6: The bank balance is NOT your profit.
“I have AED 250,000 in the bank, so I’m doing great.”
Not necessarily. Look at what’s actually inside that balance:
🟣 AED 100,000 is a bank loan. You have to pay it back.
🟡 AED 60,000 is customer advances. You haven’t delivered the work yet.
🔵 AED 15,000 is VAT collected. It belongs to the tax authority.
🔵 AED 45,000 is your own capital that you put in.
🟢 AED 30,000 is the actual profit.
Cash and profit are different things, for three reasons:
1️⃣ Timing. An invoice you’ve sent is profit, but it isn’t cash until the customer pays.
2️⃣ Non-cash costs. Depreciation lowers your profit, but no money leaves the bank.
3️⃣ Not your money. Loans, advances, VAT and capital all add to your balance without adding to your profit.
Profit = Revenue earned − Expenses incurred.
Earned ≠ received. Incurred ≠ paid.
Before you spend, ask:
✅ Did customers pay me, or did I only invoice them?
✅ Is any of this a loan, advance, VAT or my own capital?
✅ Which bills and taxes are still due?
✅ What is my real profit this month?
If you can’t answer these, your bank balance is giving you a false picture of how the business is doing.
Next up: Episode 7. Follow along so you don’t miss it.
Counting Crux |
#Accounting #UAEBusiness #Profit #CashFlow #Bookkeeping #Founders #DubaiBusiness #SmallBusiness
Cash flow and profitability are two different things. Understanding where your money comes from and where it needs to go is essential for making smarter business decisions.
Date cleanup with an audit trail - an original ADG Media demonstration using fictional data. Three clear dates normalized to ISO format; ambiguous and invalid values flagged rather than guessed. Source and cleaned CSV deliverables retained. AI-assisted production, validated against the sample source.
