DataSolve

06/10/2026

A little more of the person behind the posts.

I’m Ryan. I work in accounting, and I’m particularly interested in building practical finance systems that make running a business easier.

What draws me to this work is the human side.

The owner trying to work out whether they can afford another employee.

The team member who needs a process they can follow without second-guessing themselves.

The person who opens a financial report and wants someone to explain what it means for them.

That is who I have in mind when I share content here.

My aim is to make the numbers understandable and the next step clearer.

You’ll still find practical finance insights on this page. I also want you to get to know the person sharing them.

What part of your business finances would you like to feel more confident about?

19/09/2026

How decision-ready is your finance function?

Take this 60-second test.

Answer each question in order with a simple Yes or No.

Your first No identifies the next part of the finance process that needs strengthening.

A business should not rush into forecasting when its underlying transactions and balances cannot be trusted.

But it should also not mistake accurate records for a complete finance function.

The real progression is:

Record → Reconcile → Explain → Forecast → Decide

Five Yes answers mean your finance process can connect reliable records to management action.

Apply the test to your latest management report.

Where did your finance function stop?

16/09/2026

A finance function can be accurate without being decision-ready.

Recording transactions and reconciling balances are essential. They tell management what happened and confirm that the numbers can be trusted.

But the commercial value of finance increases when it can also answer:

Why did it happen?
What is likely to happen next?
What should management do about it?

Review your latest management report.

Did it explain the result, forecast its effect and recommend a specific action—or did it simply present accurate historical numbers?

The first unanswered question reveals where your finance function currently stops.

Accurate books are the foundation. Better decisions are the outcome.

Save the Finance Decision Ladder for your next management review.

22/08/2026

Growth targets often enter the sales forecast long before they enter the cash forecast.

That is where the pressure begins.

Before accepting a large order, adding capacity or increasing the sales target, management should answer five questions:

• How much cash must leave before the customer pays?
• How many days must the business fund that gap?
• What happens if the largest customer pays 30 days late?
• How much funding headroom remains after committed payments?
• Does the 13-week cash forecast include the proposed growth?

Mark each answer as known, assumed or unknown.

An unknown does not automatically mean the business should reject the opportunity.

It means there is still financial work to complete before committing.

Sales forecasts show where management wants the business to go.

Cash forecasts show whether the business can survive the journey.

Save this checklist before approving the next growth target.

Which of these five questions is currently the hardest for your business to answer?

19/08/2026

Revenue increased.

The bank balance fell.

That does not automatically mean the accounting records are wrong.

This is a composite example based on a pattern that appears in growing owner-managed businesses.

The business completed more orders, issued more invoices and reported a positive margin. But customers were paying after 45 or 60 days.

Meanwhile, materials, suppliers, payroll and tax obligations still had to be funded.

Each new sale increased revenue immediately, while the related cash arrived weeks later.

Growth therefore increased the amount of working capital the business needed to carry.

The important questions become:

• How long is the gap between delivery and collection?
• How much must be paid before the customer settles?
• How much cash is required to fund the next month’s sales?
• Who owns the follow-up of overdue accounts?

Growing businesses should not only forecast sales.

They must forecast the cash required to carry those sales.

Which is growing faster in your business: revenue or the amount tied up in debtors?

08/08/2026

Before changing your accounting software, test the handoffs around it.

A system can work exactly as designed while the overall finance process still fails.

The gap often appears when information moves from:

• Sale to invoice
• Invoice to payment
• Payment to bank reconciliation
• Reconciliation to management report
• Management report to decision

At each handoff, ask three questions:

1. What event should update the next system?
2. Who owns the exception when it does not?
3. Which record is the final source of truth?

If your team repeatedly exports data, corrects spreadsheets or checks multiple platforms before answering a basic finance question, replacing the accounting software may not solve the underlying problem.

Trace one real transaction from sale to management decision.

Where does the manual rework begin?

05/08/2026

One sale can look complete in one system and unfinished in another.

The sales platform says the order was accepted.

The payment platform says the customer paid.

The accounting system still shows the invoice as outstanding.

The management spreadsheet says the order is incomplete.

The problem is not necessarily inaccurate numbers.

It is that nobody has defined which system owns each stage of the transaction, what event should update the next system, and who resolves exceptions when the handoff fails.

Before replacing your software or adding automation, trace one real sale from the original order through to the bank reconciliation.

Where does the status first stop matching?

That is where your control problem begins.

01/08/2026

Shared eFiling access does not always mean your accountant can view tax status or submit returns.

Before treating a new organisation profile as ready, verify:

1. The organisation appears in the correct portfolio.
2. A registered representative exists.
3. The representative is activated.
4. The required tax types are linked.
5. The user's viewing and submission rights have been tested.

Profile access is only the first step. Filing authority must still be confirmed.

Security reminder: never share your SARS password or one-time PIN. The correct process is to grant controlled user access.

Save this checklist for your next accountant or tax-practitioner onboarding.

29/07/2026

The month-end delay was not caused by the accounting software.

The real blockage was a process with no fixed deadlines, no clear owners and no weekly routine for resolving outstanding items.

When those issues wait until month-end, the finance team spends its time chasing documents instead of helping management understand performance.

A simple weekly outstanding-items review should answer three questions:

1. Who owns this item?
2. By what date must it be resolved?
3. When must it be escalated?

Month-end control is built weekly.

Which item delays your month-end most: missing documents, uncoded transactions or unclear ownership?

15/10/2022