The verdict in three sentences
A Saint-Louis accountant who automates invoice entry, bank statement reconciliation and customer reminders wins back 5 to 10 hours a week at month-end, depending on the number of files. Learning alone with free tools often leads to trial and error with no method, and a seminar in Dakar costs 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA plus two days on the road. The Kolonell Academy course "Automate your work with AI, without writing code", 20 hours, 100,000 FCFA (about 152 EUR / 165 USD), certificate included, is followed from Saint-Louis and paid with Wave or Orange Money.
Accounting tasks that lend themselves to automation
In Saint-Louis, accounting firms and admin departments (retail SMEs, hotels on the island, transport, agribusinesses in the delta) usually keep books under SYSCOHADA, with software or an Excel workbook. Lost time does not come from the chart of accounts, it comes from re-keying: copying a PDF invoice into a sheet, retyping a bank statement, chasing customers by email one by one.
Automating does not mean letting AI keep the books. The idea is to hand the repetitive steps to tools such as Google Sheets, Make, Zapier or a custom AI assistant, then check the output.
| Month-end task | Manual time per month | Time after automation (2026 estimate) | Tool covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extracting data from 150 supplier invoices | 10 to 12 h | 2 to 3 h of checking | AI assistant and Google Sheets |
| Categorising bank statement lines | 6 to 8 h | 1 to 2 h | Google Sheets with AI |
| Chasing unpaid customers | 4 to 6 h | 30 minutes of approval | Make or Zapier scenario and Gmail |
| Monthly report to the manager | 3 h | 45 minutes | Automatic documents |
| Answering routine customer questions | 4 h | 1 h | WhatsApp Business and AI |
| Indicative total | 27 to 33 h | 5 to 8 h |
Comparing ways to train from Saint-Louis
The course Automate your work with AI, without writing code is level 4 of the Artificial intelligence track, at 100,000 FCFA, taught in French. It assumes you already use ChatGPT or Gemini methodically. Across eight modules it covers choosing what to automate, custom AI assistants, Google Sheets and AI on hundreds of rows, multi-step Make and Zapier scenarios, automatic documents and emails, WhatsApp Business, AI agents with guardrails, then documentation and maintenance. The expected result is one complete automated process and a portfolio of 8 automations.
| Criterion | Self-learning (free tools) | In-person seminar in Dakar | Kolonell Academy level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 0 FCFA | 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA | 100,000 FCFA (about 152 EUR) |
| Extra costs | Mobile data | Saint-Louis to Dakar return trip 12,000 to 20,000 FCFA, lodging 20,000 to 40,000 FCFA | None |
| Days off work | 0 | 2 to 3 days | 0, online in the evening |
| Method and progression | None, scattered tutorials | Good but squeezed into 2 days | 8 modules, quizzes, 20 h |
| Deliverable | Rarely finished | Course handouts | Automated process and portfolio of 8 automations |
| Data confidentiality | Not covered | Variable | Guardrails and documentation covered |
| Payment | Not applicable | Transfer, often against invoice | Wave or Orange Money |
If you are new to AI, the Artificial intelligence track starts at level 1 (25,000 FCFA). All 5 levels bought together cost 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 FCFA.
A possible side income as a freelancer
Once they master the method, some accountants offer these automations to SMEs in Saint-Louis, Richard-Toll or Louga: unpaid invoice trackers, automatic reminders, invoice extraction. The rates below are 2026 orders of magnitude seen on the Senegalese market, not guaranteed income.
| Freelance assignment | Delivery time | Indicative rate |
|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets invoice tracker with AI | 1 to 2 days | 50,000 to 80,000 FCFA |
| Automatic email reminders for unpaid invoices | 2 days | 70,000 to 100,000 FCFA |
| Complete quote, invoice, reminder process | 4 to 5 days | 120,000 to 150,000 FCFA |
| Monthly maintenance of automations | 2 to 4 h per month | 15,000 to 30,000 FCFA per month |
| Internal training for a colleague | Half a day | 25,000 to 50,000 FCFA |
Mini case study
Learn this skill with Kolonell Academy
Short, practical online courses (taught in French), graded exercises, certificate. Pay with Wave or Orange Money.
Fatou, 29, a bookkeeper at a firm in Sor, Saint-Louis, handles 12 client files and spends about 28 hours a month re-keying and chasing payments. She pays 100,000 FCFA with Wave and completes the 20 hours over five weeks, in the evenings.
After automating invoice extraction and reminders, she estimates she now spends only 8 hours a month on these tasks, so 20 hours recovered. The firm gives her three more files, with a 25,000 FCFA monthly bonus. On the side, she delivers an automatic reminder setup for a local SME at 80,000 FCFA. Result: 105,000 FCFA from the first month, so the course pays for itself in about four weeks. These amounts are an illustration; every situation differs.
FAQ
Do I need to know how to code?
No, the course is entirely no-code: Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, Gmail and WhatsApp Business. If you can build a table and fill in a Google Form, you can follow the 20 hours.
Can AI make mistakes in my entries?
Yes, which is why the course stresses human checks and guardrails. The goal is to cut re-keying by 70 to 80%, not to remove the accountant's review.
Are the tools paid?
Make and Zapier have free plans that are enough to start, with a few hundred to a thousand operations a month. A paid plan costs about 6,000 to 12,000 FCFA a month if volume grows.
What level do I need before this course?
It is level 4 of the track: you should already use an AI assistant with structured prompts. If not, level 3 at 75,000 FCFA prepares you.
How do I pay for enrolment?
The 100,000 FCFA (about 152 EUR) is paid with Wave or Orange Money from Saint-Louis, no bank card needed. Access opens on confirmation.
Take the next step. Enroll in Automate your work with AI, without writing code: 20 hours online, taught in French, 100,000 FCFA (about 152 EUR), Kolonell Academy certificate. Pay with Wave or Orange Money. Questions? WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
