diff --git a/run_audit.sh b/run_audit.sh
index 999cc9e..46a8961 100644
--- a/run_audit.sh
+++ b/run_audit.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
 # table URI in project:dataset.table format
 TABLE="<project>:<dataset>.<table>"
 
+# remove previous run data files
+rm "$DIR/folders.json" "$DIR/projects.json" "$DIR/owners_nldj.json"
+
 # run the audit files
 python3 "$DIR/get_folders.py"
 python3 "$DIR/get_projects.py"