Sales, operations and finance do not always look at the same version of a case. Each has its own tool, history and habits. Disagreement often emerges when a figure no longer adds up.
In a LinkedIn post, I wrote that the source of truth was a political question. Because it decides who is right. Software alone cannot resolve that disagreement.
Clarify responsibilities
When I work on Airtable, I ask who creates the information, who changes it, who validates it and who reads it. I also look at who bears the consequences if it is wrong. These questions determine the structure of the base and each person’s permissions.
The first person to receive information should often be the one to enter it into the system. That requires the organisation to give them both the ability and the responsibility to do so.
Make the decision visible in the tool
Approval must have a shared meaning. A correction must be made in the right place. If the same figures keep being changed independently in several tools, centralisation does not solve the problem.
A source of truth exists when an organisation agrees to make a decision. The Airtable base should make that decision visible in its data, interfaces and automations.
Adapted from my LinkedIn post “The source of truth is political”, dated 16 June 2026.