Defining the Source of Truth (Before Writing a Line of Code)

Every service business eventually runs into the same fight. Not with customers, or with employees but with the past.

Someone claims attendance was missed. Someone else says it was paid correctly. The system says one thing. The field says another. By the time the argument starts, the money is already gone.

So the question is not who is right. The question is who has authority.

How Truth Works Today (Whether We Admit It or Not)

In our business, attendance disputes are not philosophical debates. They are cash decisions.

So we follow one rule:

Once attendance is approved by the customer and invoiced, that is the truth. Not because it’s perfect. Because it’s paid.

If a field officer raises an alternate claim later, the answer is simple: That window is closed. If the error is critical, we don’t “fix” history. We create a second reality:

1. A fresh attendance sheet
2. Explicit customer approval
3. A separate invoice

This isn’t flexibility. This is containment.

The Actual Truth Stack (Messy, Human, Real)

Today, truth lives in multiple places:

• Paper attendance registers at site
• WhatsApp messages
• Excel and payroll records
• Human memory
• Customer-signed monthly sheets

When these disagree, the office version wins—because that’s what gets signed and paid.

Most conflicts don’t come from fraud. They come from lack of visibility. Field staff don’t see the final picture. They assume. They remember wrong. By the time they notice, the system has already moved on.

The Lie That Keeps Chaos Alive

The most common explanations for missing data:

• “He forgot to sign”
• “Someone else came for a few days”
• “I didn’t know the process”

These excuses allow the business to believe something dangerous: That accountability can be retroactive. It can’t.

What O9X Changes (The Line in the Sand)

O9X introduces one hard rule and one controlled escape hatch.

The Hard Rule

Attendance entered by field staff becomes the primary record.

• They can see all attendance.
• They can submit entries for all associates.
• They can edit for a fixed window of 3 days.

After that, attendance is frozen.

The Escape Hatch

After 3 days:

• Field staff can request changes.
• Only office staff can execute them.
• Every change leaves a permanent trace.

No silent edits. No memory-based corrections. No WhatsApp archaeology.

Why This Mix of Rigidity and Flexibility Matters

Total rigidity breaks operations. Total flexibility breaks trust.

This structure does something intentional:

1. Gives field staff visibility.
2. Gives them time-bound control.
3. Forces accountability before money moves.

After that point, the system stops negotiating with the past.

The Authority Shift (This Is the Real Change)

Before O9X, truth was decided by payroll data reconstructed from multiple sources. After O9X, hopefully the truth will be decided by what was entered while it was still editable.

That is the only moment where correction is allowed. Everything else is escalation, not editing.

Who This Is Not For

This Field Note is not for founders who want systems that “adjust later.”

If your business survives on explanations instead of records, stop here. This only matters if:

• Attendance drives invoices.
• Errors cost real money.
• You are tired of reliving last month’s arguments.

The Law This System Is Built On

You don’t have an ops problem. You have a system problem. O9X does not make people perfect. It makes reality visible early—so mistakes are corrected when they are still cheap.

Everything else in the build will sit on top of this decision.