Data hygiene

Data hygiene means keeping your data clean, accurate, and up to date. That means no duplicate customers, no typos in product names, no old phone numbers, and the same format for dates and addresses everywhere. It sounds dull, but messy data causes real problems. Emails go to the wrong person, reports count the same customer twice, and AI gives wrong answers with full confidence. For an online store, a common mess is the same product listed three ways across Shopify, Xero, and the stock sheet. A one-off tidy-up fixes the backlog. A few rules, like required fields and drop-down lists, keep it clean afterwards. AI can find likely duplicates, but a person should approve merges.