In a merger case, where a number came from matters as much as the number. Sloc records the origin of every figure and every site, keeps it when you change something, and can carry it through to the files you send out.

Sources for a market

In Sloc Concentrate, the line under a market's chart names everything its figures draw on - the file you imported, an RFI response, a built-in report, your own edits.

It's cumulative. Import a file and edit one company's revenue, and the market reads as that file and analyst adjustments - which is exactly the question you'll be asked.

One figure in detail

The information icon next to a value opens its own record: where it came from, the method behind it, and the reason given for the change. Origin details underneath shows what the figure was before anyone touched it, and which file that came from.

Change source or reason lets you correct or improve that note. Write reasons as if the other side will read them, because they might: "Removed minus sign from negative value" does more work than "fixed".

Sites in Sloc Local

The same holds for sites. Open one with the pencil and each field is labelled with its source - the file you uploaded, the location database, your own entry.

Locations carry the provider that placed them, along with the method and how precise the match was. That's covered in how to check geocoding quality and look up addresses.

Taking it with you

Downloads can carry the sources with the figures: tick Include sources when you export Concentrate results, and the workbook gains source references plus a market data sources sheet. Site exports can carry change reasons the same way.

Pro tips

• Give a reason whenever you change a figure. Thirty seconds now saves reconstructing your thinking in three months.

• Check the sources line before you rely on a market. "Unspecified" in it is a flag that something arrived without provenance.

• Include sources on anything that leaves the team. The extra sheet is cheaper than the email asking where a number came from.

• Origin details is the undo of last resort: it still holds what the figure was before it was edited.