- Everything gets its own column
- Notes should not be included in a data column
- Notes should not be associated with formatting
- Data needs to be in a column not result in different tables
- Each row is its own sample
- Check your null values, especially when NA is used for data
- Stick with one tab/table per file
- Units should be part of header not in data
- Be careful with dates in excel
- Data should not be part of headers or tab labels
- One piece of information per column
- Be able to save as plain text (eg csv)