Data
Single source of truth
Also called
- SSOT
- System of record
When the CRM, the billing system and the spreadsheet each hold a customer record, all three drift, and every meeting that compares them spends its first fifteen minutes reconciling. The fix is not technical first — it is deciding, per field, which system is authoritative.
Once decided, the technical work follows: everything else reads from the authority rather than keeping its own copy, or copies are clearly derived and timestamped.
The failure mode to watch is a 'temporary' spreadsheet that becomes load-bearing. It is usually where the real process lives, which makes it worth understanding rather than banning.
It is the difference between a reporting question taking an hour and taking a week of reconciliation.
Commonly misunderstood
What people get wrong
The claim
“One source of truth means one system.”
What is actually true
It means one *authority per field*. Billing can own invoice state while the CRM owns contact details, as long as it is written down which is which.
Where this comes up
Services where it matters
Related terms
Next step
Working through a single source of truth decision?
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