Every year, the same scene plays out in thousands of OHADA companies: the trial balance comes out of the software, goes into a workbook, and someone copies the DSF balance sheet, income statement and notes line by line. The work takes days, sometimes weeks, and often ends in a rush, when a last-minute correction forces a full recount. Yet everything the bundle needs is already in a single file: your general ledger.
The problem: the DSF is rebuilt instead of computed
The DSF (statistical and tax return) brings together the company’s identification, the SYSCOHADA financial statements and the notes. Every figure comes from the books. But in most companies they do not flow out of the books directly: they are copied.
That copying has three costs:
- Time. Balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, changes in equity, then each note: that many tables to fill by hand.
- Errors. A forgotten line, an account mapped to the wrong item, a note that does not tie back to the balance sheet. The spreadsheet says nothing; the tax office or the auditor finds out.
- Fragility. One adjusting entry posted afterwards, and everything must be redone: trial balance, balance sheet, the notes concerned.
How it is done today
- A home-made workbook, handed down from year to year, with formulas nobody dares touch.
- Desktop software that produces the statements, but not always the revised SYSCOHADA notes, so the workbook comes back for the end.
- The accounting firm, which receives the trial balance and redoes the work on its side, with the same copying, in peak season.
In all three cases, the DSF is a document built next to the books. That gap is what costs so much.
The principle: compute the DSF from the entries
A reliable DSF is computed, not copied. Statements and notes come from the same entries, so a correction in the books flows everywhere, and every figure in the bundle can be traced back to the voucher.
You do not need to have kept your books in new software all year to benefit. Your previous software’s general ledger holds every entry for the year: that is enough.
What to gather before you start
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| The general ledger for the year to file (PDF, Excel or CSV), or the FEC | It holds every entry: the statements are computed from it. |
| The general ledger for the previous year | It fills the prior-year column and the opening balances. Otherwise prior-year amounts are entered line by line. |
| Last year’s financial statements | To compare: the migrated result must be identical. |
| The company’s identity, management and activities | They fill the cover page and the R1 to R3 forms. |
| Your fixed asset list, with useful lives | The general ledger gives values, not depreciation periods. |
A complete general ledger is essential: the whole year, year-end entries posted, opening journal included. A trial balance alone is enough for the statements, but without the entry detail or the ability to trace a figure back to its voucher.
The step-by-step method with SynkriaOps
The free trial lasts 14 days, every feature open, no credit card. Accounting migration and the DSF bundle are included. Here is the order that works.
1. Create your company file
Create your account, then your company: name, OHADA country, first financial year. The revised SYSCOHADA chart is preloaded.
2. Migrate the previous year, then the year to file
In Settings → Opening balance import, the assistant takes years from the oldest to the most recent. Upload the previous year’s general ledger, say which column holds what (the mapping is saved for the next file), confirm the accounts the assistant could not match to the SYSCOHADA chart on its own, and pick the journal that carries opening balances.
Before writing anything, the assistant shows its checks: overall balance, balance per journal, profit for the year, reconciliations. At the slightest blocking anomaly, nothing is written. Once the previous year is imported and closed, its balances become the next year’s opening balances: start again with the ledger for the year to file.
3. Compare, then close
Open the balance sheet and income statement. The result must match what you expect. A gap? Click the line concerned: the accounts and entries open, down to the voucher. When everything is right, close the year. Closing is your decision: nothing closes by itself.
4. Complete the identification
In Settings → Company details → Additional information, enter the identity, management and activities once. They fill the cover page and the R1 to R3 forms.
5. Prepare the bundle
In Financial statements, launch Prepare the DSF package. Six steps:
- Scope: the entity, the year, the system (normal or minimal cash-based).
- Version: draft, firm review, or final for filing.
- Documents and notes: the statements to include, and the R4 form declaring which notes apply.
- Checks: what can be produced, and why.
- Formats: PDF, Excel, or both.
- Summary: you review, then you generate.
The final for filing version requires a closed year and no blocking point. A draft is possible at any time: generate one right after the migration to see where you stand.
6. Get it signed and file it
SynkriaOps prepares the bundle; filing remains your action. When the visa of a chartered accountant is required, your firm can apply it directly in the document if it works with you in SynkriaOps.
The traps that waste time
| Trap | What happens | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| General ledger exported before year-end entries | The migrated result does not match the expected statements | Export after the last entry of the year |
| Previous year missing | Empty prior-year column, opening balances to rebuild | Migrate the previous year first |
| Old non-SYSCOHADA chart of accounts | Accounts without an obvious match | Confirm them one by one in the assistant, once |
| Opening journal coded oddly (RAN, REPORT…) | Opening balances taken for movements | Pick it explicitly at the Journals step |
| Fixed assets without useful life | Incomplete fixed asset notes | Add useful life and start date on the detected asset records |
Is it really free?
Yes, during the trial: migration and the bundle are not reserved to any plan. If you do not choose a subscription after 14 days, you keep 5 days of full access, then the file becomes read-only for 30 days: your exports (financial statements, FEC, data) stay downloadable throughout that period.
The real benefit comes the following year: if the books are kept in SynkriaOps as you go, the DSF is no longer a project, just a step of the closing.
Going further
- Preparing your DSF with SynkriaOps: what the bundle contains, version by version.
- Accounting migration: accepted formats and migration checks.
- Accounting migration step by step and Migrating from a general ledger, in the help center.
- Bundle and notes.
Also worth reading: Accounting migration: switching software without losing your history and Financial lineage.
Import my general ledger and prepare my DSF: 14-day free trial, no credit card.