System migration
Moving you from legacy or desktop accounting (such as Sage) to cloud platforms like Zoho Books or Xero, with full history carried over and checked against the old system.
Learn more →Thornbird · Clear numbers, considered decisions
Finance that runs itself, so you can run the business.
We're a hands-on finance partner for owner-led businesses, trusts and property groups. We move your books onto modern cloud systems, keep them accurate every month, plan your tax ahead of time, and give you the CFO-level insight to make confident decisions, without the cost of a full-time finance team.
No nasty tax surprises.
We plan the surprises out of your tax affairs, before they happen.
Plan ahead with usWhat we do
Five services, one finance partner
Bookkeeping
Monthly processing, bank reconciliations, VAT, and clean management accounts you can trust.
Learn more →Tax planning
Structuring and timing decisions for companies, trusts and individuals, including capital gains, trust distributions and annual tax positions, done in partnership with your tax adviser.
Learn more →Strategic finance / fractional CFO
Budgets, cash-flow forecasts, multi-entity reporting, debt and funding plans, and a finance voice at the table when it matters.
Learn more →New
Finertecture
CFO-in-your-pocket subscription
CFO-level finance for small businesses from R1,650 a month: a financial blueprint designed once, then cash forecasts, alerts and answers on your phone every week.
Learn more →System migration · How we work
Move to the cloud without losing a single transaction.
Leaving desktop or legacy accounting doesn't have to mean starting from scratch or trusting a rough import. We move your chart of accounts, opening balances and full transaction history from systems like Sage into Zoho Books or Xero. Then we check the new ledger against the old one, year by year, before we call it done. You get a clean, budget-ready system, plus reporting you can rely on from day one.
- Discovery and plan: we review your current system, entities, currencies and reporting needs, then choose the right platform and plan.
- Data extraction and mapping: we export your accounts, balances, customers, suppliers and history, and map them to a clean chart of accounts.
- Set-up and configuration: new organisations, VAT/tax settings, financial year, users and bank feeds.
- Full history load: opening balances and every journal, automated through the platform's API where possible, with safeguards against duplicates.
- Reconciliation sign-off: trial balances compared year by year between the old and new systems, with a written verification report.
- Go-live and handover: budgets loaded, reports set up, transactions locked, and your team and accountant trained.
Who it's forOwner-managed businesses, trusts and property or hospitality groups running one or more entities on ageing desktop accounting who want cloud access, multi-currency, budgets and real-time reporting, without losing their history or their auditor's trust.
Bookkeeping & accounting
Clean books, every month, without the chase.
Good decisions start with numbers you can trust. We keep your books up to date in Zoho Books or Xero, check every bank line rather than relying on automatic rules, and reconcile each account to the bank balance. Whether you run one company or several across different currencies and countries, you get accurate records and clear monthly reports, so you always know where your cash and profit stand.
Who it's forOwner-managed businesses, property and short-stay accommodation owners, family groups with several companies or trusts, and entrepreneurs with interests in more than one country who want reliable monthly numbers without hiring a full-time accountant.
- Bookkeeping in Zoho Books and Xero, including setup, chart of accounts and clean-up of backlogs
- Bank statement imports, line-by-line categorisation and monthly reconciliation to the bank balance
- Multi-currency and cross-border accounting, including foreign-exchange transfers and intercompany balances
- Invoices, bills, VAT/PDV records and refund tracking
- Monthly management reports: income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, with year-on-year comparisons
- Group views across related entities, with intercompany reconciliation
Tax planning
Tax planning that starts before the transaction
No nasty surprises: we plan them out before they happen.
The biggest tax savings are decided before a sale, distribution or year-end, not after. We model the options in plain numbers. That covers when to sell, how gains and income flow through a trust, and who should carry them. We bring in your existing tax adviser to confirm, so decisions are based on clear workings, not guesswork.
Who it's forFamily trusts, property owners and private investors facing a significant disposal or distribution, and the trustees and accountants who support them. It suits anyone who wants the options costed before deciding.
- Capital gains tax calculations, including base cost, pre-2001 valuations and allowable disposal costs
- Trust tax planning: vesting gains and income in beneficiaries versus keeping them in the trust
- Timing of property and asset disposals across tax years
- Using assessed losses and exemptions efficiently
- Beneficiary-level tax modelling, scenario comparisons and adviser-ready workbooks and reports
- Reconciling the tax figures to your accounting records (Sage, Zoho Books)
Strategic finance / fractional CFO
Turn your numbers into a plan you can act on.
We work alongside owners and boards as a fractional finance partner. We connect your long-term goals to the numbers that drive them: where cash really comes from, what the business can afford, and the steps that get you to where you want to be. We build clear forecasts and debt and funding plans, test the big decisions before you make them, and then track progress every month so the plan stays on course as things change.
Who it's forOwner-managed businesses, family groups and property investors with several entities, often across more than one country, who want CFO-level thinking without a full-time CFO and who want their numbers working towards long-term goals such as reducing debt, sustainable cash flow and building wealth across generations.
- A long-term financial plan with objectives, milestones and measurable targets
- A rolling 12- to 60-month cash-flow forecast with what-if scenarios
- A debt-reduction and funding strategy, including refinancing and lump-sum options
- Decision support for major moves: acquisitions, disposals, expansion or restructuring
- A group and entity structure review across companies, trusts and borders
- A monthly progress report and KPI dashboard against the plan
Why us
Accounting, systems and strategy in one place
We combine accounting, systems and strategy in one place, set up for multiple entities and currencies, and every number is checked back to its source.
Finertecture, by Thornbird. Not every business needs, or can afford, a full-time CFO. So we built Finertecture: the springbok’s leap, in your pocket. It brings Thornbird’s financial architecture to small businesses at a price they can afford, because every business that survives and grows creates jobs for South Africa’s youth. Read the Finertecture story →
Our team
Meet the team
A family business: here is why Adrian started Thornbird in 2011 and built Finertecture.
Nada Funkey
Business Administration
Nada Funkey runs the business side of Thornbird, keeping its administration organised and running smoothly. She also runs her own businesses within the Funkey Villas brand portfolio.
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Saša Funkey
Associate, Legal and Compliance
Saša Funkey heads legal and compliance at Thornbird, looking after NDAs, statements of work, data handling and a clear record of decisions on every engagement. She is in her final year of a BBusSc in Finance with Accounting at the University of Cape Town, where she has made the Dean’s List twice, and she is sitting CFA Level I in February 2027. She also co-founded Student Ledger Services, which places accounting students in paid roles with small businesses.
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Aleks Funkey
Associate, Technology and System Migrations
Aleks Funkey leads technology at Thornbird, overseeing the business’s systems, its system migrations and its technology partners. He is studying for a BA in Business Administration at IU International University of Applied Sciences. Since 2021 he has also run brand and marketing for the Funkey Villas Collection, including its websites and digital channels.
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Zoran Funkey
Associate, Customer Relations, Reporting and Communication
Zoran Funkey looks after Thornbird’s client relationships. He packages the reporting products and services the business provides and delivers them to clients, with solutions tailored to what each one needs. He is studying for a Bachelor of Commerce at Emeris University while playing for the University of Cape Town’s first soccer team, and he brings the discipline and teamwork of high-level sport to his client work.
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