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Clean a CRM Client Name Export with Python Strings — Python For Freelancers

Day 4 · ~12 min●

Your CRM exports client names with inconsistent casing, leading spaces, and underscores where spaces should be. When was the last time format_invoice_line got a name that looked like " acme_corp "?

Every single export. I fix them by hand before copying them into the invoice. That alone is ten minutes per month.

Python's string methods chain left-to-right. Three calls, no extra variables: strip() removes surrounding whitespace, lower() normalises case, replace("_", " ") swaps underscores for spaces. The cleanup that costs you ten minutes becomes one line:

python

raw = "  acme_corp  "
cleaned = raw.strip().lower().replace("_", " ")
print(cleaned)  # acme corp

Why does order matter? Can I call .lower() before .strip()?

You can — both orders give the same result for stripping and lowering. But the habit of strip() first is cleaner: remove noise at the edges before you transform the content. The one order that matters is replace last — it acts on the already-normalised string.

So I can compose this with format_invoice_line from yesterday. Clean the name first, then format it.

That is the whole idea. Functions are Lego bricks. Clean, then format, then loop across six clients in Week 2:

python

def clean_client_name(raw: str) -> str:
    result = raw.strip().lower().replace("_", " ")
    print(f"Cleaned: {result}")
    return result

Ten minutes of monthly cleanup gone in three method calls.

The silent risk: lower() permanently downcases. If you need title case on the invoice — "Acme Corp" not "acme corp" — chain .title() at the end. Know which output the next function expects before you chain.

String Cleaning Pipeline

Three methods, one chain:

Method	Does	Input → Output
`strip()`	Remove leading/trailing whitespace	`" Acme "` → `"Acme"`
`lower()`	Lowercase everything	`"ACME"` → `"acme"`
`replace(old, new)`	Swap all occurrences	`"acme_corp"` → `"acme corp"`

Chaining rules

Each method returns a new string — chain them in one expression. Order matters only when one method's output affects another's input. strip() first is the safest default.

Day 4 · ~12 min●

Every single export. I fix them by hand before copying them into the invoice. That alone is ten minutes per month.

python

raw = "  acme_corp  "
cleaned = raw.strip().lower().replace("_", " ")
print(cleaned)  # acme corp

Why does order matter? Can I call .lower() before .strip()?

So I can compose this with format_invoice_line from yesterday. Clean the name first, then format it.

That is the whole idea. Functions are Lego bricks. Clean, then format, then loop across six clients in Week 2:

python

def clean_client_name(raw: str) -> str:
    result = raw.strip().lower().replace("_", " ")
    print(f"Cleaned: {result}")
    return result

Ten minutes of monthly cleanup gone in three method calls.

String Cleaning Pipeline

Three methods, one chain:

Method	Does	Input → Output
`strip()`	Remove leading/trailing whitespace	`" Acme "` → `"Acme"`
`lower()`	Lowercase everything	`"ACME"` → `"acme"`
`replace(old, new)`	Swap all occurrences	`"acme_corp"` → `"acme corp"`

Chaining rules

Each method returns a new string — chain them in one expression. Order matters only when one method's output affects another's input. strip() first is the safest default.

String Cleaning Pipeline

Three methods, one chain:

Method	Does	Input → Output
`strip()`	Remove leading/trailing whitespace	`" Acme "` → `"Acme"`
`lower()`	Lowercase everything	`"ACME"` → `"acme"`
`replace(old, new)`	Swap all occurrences	`"acme_corp"` → `"acme corp"`

Chaining rules

Each method returns a new string — chain them in one expression. Order matters only when one method's output affects another's input. strip() first is the safest default.

String Cleaning Pipeline

Three methods, one chain:

Method	Does	Input → Output
`strip()`	Remove leading/trailing whitespace	`" Acme "` → `"Acme"`
`lower()`	Lowercase everything	`"ACME"` → `"acme"`
`replace(old, new)`	Swap all occurrences	`"acme_corp"` → `"acme corp"`

Chaining rules

Each method returns a new string — chain them in one expression. Order matters only when one method's output affects another's input. strip() first is the safest default.