Quality accounting and exceptional service

Where does Centsation come from:

From SP Dyssel, Founder of Centsation

To truly understand the mindset behind Centsation, it’s important to first appreciate its origins.

My journey began as a junior clerk at an accounting firm, where I immersed myself in the fundamentals of bookkeeping, payroll, taxation, and CIPC compliance. I was responsible for reconciling bank statements, allocating transactions, preparing VAT reports, and submitting VAT201 forms via eFiling. Over time, my role expanded, and I had the opportunity to step into a full-time position as an in-house accountant for a client with a large restaurant portfolio. This was a pivotal moment in my career, as it required far more than just basic bookkeeping—it demanded strategic financial management.

While working with these restaurants, I noticed a staggering statistic that stuck with me: Only 1 in every 5 restaurants are profitable and cash flow positive. This means that most restaurants are on the verge of being sold, struggling to secure financing for much-needed renovations, or worst of all, teetering on the brink of liquidation.

I became obsessed with this statistic and saw an opportunity to make a real impact. By working with multiple restaurants across various revenue sizes, profit margins, and staff counts, I began to understand the common problems affecting these businesses. I realized that issues like Rent, Food costs, Turnover, and Labour costs were the primary drivers of financial instability. When these four key areas are controlled, the rest falls into place, and the business can start to thrive.

This realization became the foundation of Centsation. I wanted to bring the same level of strategic financial insight to more businesses, empowering them to overcome the common challenges that held them back. I began developing better systems to identify and address the problems that were hurting restaurants, and through this approach, I helped clients gain a clearer understanding of their financial position and make more informed decisions. The results were remarkable—restaurants that were previously struggling with cash flow saw significant improvements in revenue and profit, and their projected growth was more sustainable.

Centsation was born out of a desire to help businesses not only survive but thrive. My goal has always been to provide restaurants and other businesses with the tools and expertise they need to unlock their full potential, turning financial struggles into stories of success.