The verdict in three sentences
The CFO of a 5-company retail and distribution group in Dakar who reconciles 9 bank accounts, Wave and Orange Money receipts and 40 cash registers by hand closes the books at day 18, with 3 accountants working half-time on 14,000 transactions a month. A well-configured automatic reconciliation engine matches about 90 % of transactions without intervention and leaves accountants only the genuine exceptions. At Kolonell, this kind of project ranges from 2,500,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (3,810 to 22,870+ EUR) depending on complexity, delivered in 2 to 4 months, everything else being set in the quote.
Why reconciliation holds up the close
In a Senegalese distribution group, money arrives through many routes: customer transfers into banks such as SGBS, CBAO, Ecobank, BICIS or BOA, cash deposits from the stores, Wave and Orange Money collections with their fees, cheque deposits and card terminal payments. Each statement has its own format, truncated descriptions and value dates. Mobile money statements arrive in daily batches net of commission, while the till recorded each sale gross.
| Indicator (2026 estimate) | Manual reconciliation | Automated reconciliation |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly transactions | 14,000 | 14,000 |
| Transactions matched automatically | 0 to 20 % (Excel macros) | 88 to 92 % |
| Accountants involved | 3 half-time (1.5 FTE) | 0.5 FTE on exceptions |
| Monthly close | day 18 | day 6 to 8 |
| Cash discrepancies detected | at month end | next day |
| Wave and Orange Money fees tracked | estimated | broken down by transaction and store |
The hidden cost is not only accounting time. A day-18 close means management steers cash and margins three weeks late, and a till discrepancy in a store is spotted a month after the fact.
How the rules engine works
| Rule | Example | Share of transactions |
|---|---|---|
| Exact match | same amount, date and invoice reference | 45 to 55 % |
| Match with tolerance | 1 to 3 days of value date gap | 10 to 15 % |
| Grouping | one customer transfer settling 6 invoices | 8 to 12 % |
| Mobile money net of fees | daily Wave batch = day's sales minus 1 % fee | 10 to 15 % |
| Cash deposits | bank deposit linked to the store's end-of-day report | 5 to 8 % |
| Exceptions to handle | unreadable description, partial amount, duplicate | 8 to 12 % |
The software imports statements automatically (bank formats, CSV files or mobile money operator API exports), applies the rules in order, suggests matches for ambiguous cases and generates matching entries for the accounting package (Sage, Odoo or other) in the format the OHADA chart of accounts (SYSCOHADA) expects. Intercompany flows within the group are identified and eliminated for consolidation.
Budget and timeline
An engine limited to one company, 3 banks and exact rules stays in the simple bracket: 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA (3,810 to 6,100 EUR). For 5 companies, 9 banks, Wave, Orange Money and the tills, with a cash dashboard, it moves into the medium bracket: 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR). Real-time API connections with banks and operators, automatic consolidation and rules learned from validations belong to the complex bracket: 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR).
The 2 to 4 month schedule includes 2 weeks collecting statement formats and analysing three months of history, 4 to 8 weeks building rules and imports, one month running in parallel on a real close, then switchover. Application maintenance then costs 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA per month (53, 114 or 183 EUR) depending on service level.
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Aïssatou, CFO of a distribution group in Dakar, has 3 accountants on reconciliation half-time, or 1.5 full-time equivalents, at a loaded cost of 650,000 FCFA (about 990 EUR) per accountant per month. Reconciliation therefore costs 1.5 x 650,000 x 12, or 11,700,000 FCFA a year. With 90 % of transactions matched automatically, 0.5 FTE remains on exceptions: the time saved reaches 7,800,000 FCFA (about 11,900 EUR) a year, redirected to margin analysis and collections.
Better tracking of mobile money fees adds to it. On 120,000,000 FCFA collected monthly via Wave and Orange Money, an unclaimed fee error of 0.1 % is 120,000 FCFA a month. With a medium-bracket project around 6,000,000 FCFA, payback comes in under a year, before counting a close brought forward by 10 days.
FAQ
Do our banks provide usable statements?
Every bank in Dakar provides at least a statement export file. Some offer structured formats or a corporate API, which makes daily imports smoother.
How are Wave and Orange Money collections handled?
The software imports merchant reports, matches each sales batch with till receipts, isolates transaction fees and flags any gap above a threshold, for example 500 FCFA.
Do we need to change our accounting software?
No. The engine produces matching entries and journals in your accounting software's format, compliant with revised SYSCOHADA.
How long until we reach 90 % automation?
Expect 60 to 75 % from the first month, then 88 to 92 % after two closes, once rules are tuned on your real transaction descriptions.
Let's scope your project. Banks, Wave, Orange Money and tills reconciled automatically across your 5 companies: we define scope and timeline with your finance team. Detailed quote within 48 h. 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.
