A client sends the keyword export. You process it, build a plan, present it, and someone asks how many terms were in the original file. Nobody counted.
Count at the door
Recording the line count of every file as it arrives takes seconds and settles a whole class of later argument. When the processed list is 4,200 rows and the source was 12,000, you can say exactly where the other 7,800 went.
Catching truncated files
Exports fail quietly. A tool that caps at 1,000 rows returns exactly 1,000 rows and no warning. A round number in a line count is almost always an export limit rather than a coincidence, and spotting it before analysis saves rebuilding the whole thing.
Reporting the funnel
12,000 raw, 8,400 after deduplication, 5,100 after removing brand terms, 900 with meaningful volume. That sequence is more persuasive than any single number, because it shows the work.
Try it: Line & Word Statistics Counter on SeoWolf's Notepad.