Data and ETL testing you can reconcile to the source

When a dashboard number is wrong, people stop trusting the dashboard. We validate data from source systems through every transformation to the warehouse, so your reporting holds up to scrutiny.

Bad data rarely announces itself

Data defects do not crash an application. They quietly flow into reports, forecasts and customer communications until someone notices a number that does not add up.

  • Silent transformation errorsJoin, filter and mapping mistakes drop or duplicate records without any error.
  • Risky migrationsMoving to a new platform without full reconciliation leaves gaps nobody can see.
  • Manual spot checksSampling a few rows by hand cannot prove millions of rows are correct.
  • Unclear ownershipNobody is sure which system is the source of truth for a given field.

Evidence that the data is right

We translate mapping documents and business rules into executable SQL validations: row counts, completeness, uniqueness, referential integrity, transformation logic and reconciliation of totals between source and target.

Those checks become repeatable, so every load and every migration cycle is measured against the same standard rather than re-checked by hand.

Capabilities

  • Database testing

    Schema, constraint, stored procedure and data integrity verification.

  • ETL testing

    Validation of extraction, transformation rules and load behaviour, including incremental loads.

  • Source-to-target validation

    Field-level checks that target data matches the source after mapping rules are applied.

  • Data migration testing

    Full reconciliation across migration dry runs and the final cut-over.

  • SQL validation

    Review and testing of the queries behind reports, views and transformations.

  • Data reconciliation

    Count, sum and balance checks that prove nothing was lost or double-counted.

  • Databricks testing

    Validation of notebooks, Delta tables and pipeline outputs on Databricks.

  • Data warehouse validation

    Dimension, fact and aggregation checks across warehouse layers.

How we work

  1. Understand the data

    Review sources, mappings, business rules and the reports that depend on them.

  2. Define rules

    Turn requirements into measurable validation rules and tolerances.

  3. Build validations

    Write reusable SQL and scripted checks for each layer of the pipeline.

  4. Reconcile & report

    Run checks, investigate differences and document findings clearly.

  5. Automate

    Schedule validations to run with each load so issues surface immediately.

What it means for your business

Technologies we use

  • SQL
  • SQL Server
  • PostgreSQL
  • Databricks
  • Python
  • Azure DevOps
  • Git
  • CI/CD
  • Trusted reporting

    Leaders can act on dashboards without second-guessing the numbers.

  • Safer migrations

    Cut-over decisions are based on full reconciliation, not samples.

  • Faster root cause

    When numbers differ, validation results point to the layer where it happened.

  • Repeatable assurance

    The same checks run on every load, not only during projects.

Frequently asked questions

What is source-to-target validation?

It is the practice of confirming that each target field contains exactly what the source data should produce after the documented mapping and transformation rules are applied.

Can you test large data volumes?

Yes. We favour set-based SQL comparisons and aggregate reconciliation over row-by-row sampling, which scales to large tables.

Do you need access to production data?

Not necessarily. We can work with masked or representative data and agree access rules with your security team before we start.

Do you test Databricks pipelines?

Yes. We validate notebook logic, Delta table outputs and data quality across bronze, silver and gold layers where that pattern is used.

From our Insights

A Practical Checklist for Source-to-Target Data Validation

A pipeline can complete successfully and still deliver incorrect data. Eight checks that prove it arrived complete and correct.

2 min read

Talk to Qanovix about data & ETL quality

Tell us where you are today and what you need to achieve. We will recommend a practical next step, even if it is small.