Exporting the accounting file (FEC)

The FEC (Fichier des Écritures Comptables — Accounting Entries File) is the regulatory electronic export format for your accounting data. It contains all your posted accounting entries in a structured text file (TSV — tab-separated values), readable by any tax audit, statutory audit, or accounting software.

What is the FEC used for?

Use case	Detail
Tax authority audit (DGI/ANIF)	Tax authorities in OHADA countries may request the FEC during a desk audit or an on-site accounting review
Statutory auditor (CAC) review	The auditor imports the FEC into their audit software to perform verification work without direct access to your system
Submission to an external accountant	If you change accounting firms or your accountant needs to review data remotely, the FEC is the universal exchange format
Legal archiving	SYSCOHADA regulation article 24 requires accounting records to be retained for 10 years — the FEC is the digital reference medium
Advanced internal analysis	Import into Excel or Power BI for accounting data analysis not natively available

Caution

The FEC includes all posted entries for the selected fiscal year. Make sure all your documents are posted before exporting the definitive FEC. Documents in DRAFT status are not included.

The 16 FEC columns

#	Column	Description	Example
1	JournalCode	Journal code	VTE
2	JournalLib	Journal label	Sales journal
3	EcritureNum	Sequential entry number (non-reusable)	VTE-2026-000042
4	EcritureDate	Entry date in YYYYMMDD format	20260214
5	CompteNum	SYSCOHADA account number	411001
6	CompteLib	Account label	SARL ABC
7	PieceRef	Source document reference	FAC-2026-0042
8	PieceDate	Document date in YYYYMMDD format	20260214
9	EcritureLib	Entry description	Invoice office supplies
10	Debit	Debited amount (0.00 if credit)	1180000.00
11	Credit	Credited amount (0.00 if debit)	0.00
12	EcritureLet	Matching code (blank if unmatched)	AA
13	DateLet	Matching date in YYYYMMDD format	20260301
14	ValidDate	Entry posting date	20260215
15	Montantdevise	Amount in foreign currency (0 if XAF)	0.00
16	Idevise	ISO currency code (XAF by default)	XAF

How to export the FEC

1. From the navigation bar: Financial Statements → Exports → FEC. 2. Select the fiscal year to export. 3. Optionally, specify a period (start date / end date) for a partial export. 4. Click Generate FEC. 5. SynkriaOps automatically checks consistency (ΣDebit = ΣCredit) before generating the file. 6. Download the .tsv file (naming convention: FEC_YYYYMMDD_[NIU].tsv).

Tip

SynkriaOps blocks FEC generation if the trial balance for the selected period is unbalanced (ΣDebit ≠ ΣCredit). Correct the discrepancy in the trial balance first, then retry.

Verifying FEC consistency

Before submitting the FEC to a third party, verify:

Check	How to verify
ΣDebit = ΣCredit	SynkriaOps displays this automatically after generation — must show 0.00 XAF difference
All posted documents included	Compare the number of FEC lines with the number of entries in the trial balance
No numbering gaps	The EcritureNum column must be sequential with no breaks per journal
Consistent dates	EcritureDate must fall within the fiscal year period — flag any out-of-period dates

Opening the FEC in Excel

The FEC is a text file encoded in UTF-8 with tabs as the separator. To open it correctly in Excel:

1. Open Excel → Data → From Text/CSV. 2. Select your .tsv file. 3. Choose Tab as the delimiter (not comma, not semicolon). 4. Set the encoding to UTF-8. 5. For the Debit and Credit columns, format them as Number with 2 decimal places. 6. For date columns (EcritureDate, PieceDate, DateLet, ValidDate), they are in YYYYMMDD format — you can reformat them with the formula =DATE(LEFT(A2,4),MID(A2,5,2),RIGHT(A2,2)).

Recommended export frequency

Frequency	Use case
Monthly	Routine archiving, pre-VAT return verification
Quarterly	Submission to accountant for interim review
Annual	Final export of the closed fiscal year for 10-year legal retention
On demand	Response to a tax audit or statutory auditor engagement

Caution

Mandatory 10-year retention — SYSCOHADA regulation article 24 requires accounting records and supporting documents to be retained for 10 years from the fiscal year closing date. The archived FEC constitutes the legal digital proof of your accounting. Store it in a secure, backed-up location.

Common errors

Error	Likely cause	Solution
Generation blocked “unbalanced trial balance”	ΣDebit ≠ ΣCredit in the period	Identify and correct the discrepancy in the trial balance
Columns shifted when opening in Excel	Wrong delimiter selected (comma instead of tab)	Re-run the import with Tab as delimiter
Unreadable characters (accents, special chars)	Wrong encoding selected	Select UTF-8 on import
Numbering gaps in EcritureNum	Documents deleted after posting (normally blocked)	Contact support — posted documents are immutable
Partial FEC (missing lines)	Some documents are still in DRAFT	Post all documents for the period

What’s next?

• Viewing the trial balance — Verify your accounting is in equilibrium before any FEC export.
• Posting and reversing a document — Make sure all documents for the period are in POSTED status before exporting.