A software tool, called Topaz, unifies financial management of various projects, interfaces with existing systems in companies and can be used to manage project transactions, costs and consumables indivi- dually and collectively, says South African software development house Incasu business development manager Barry de Harde.

The Incasu financial project management system integrates the supply chain management, project reporting and control systems of companies to enable the strict control of spending and revenue.

The system can be used to generate forecasts for managers and accountants, while engineers and civil contractors can compare their workflow and progress against the deadlines and conditions of the contract are captured in the system.

“Topaz is designed to remove the sensitivity of companies to the departures of key and highly skilled employees, as most information that had to be handled manually, which could introduce inaccuracies, is now captured in the system, which automatically updates all forms and processes, while the workflow monitoring ensures that all orders are checked against contractual rules and stipulations,” says De Harde.

Companies can retain their legacy systems and the Incasu middleware product tools enable transfer of data to the financial project management system so that projects are updated, workflows triggered and reports generated for individual projects or teams.

“The main aim of the system is to enable companies to have a companywide view of projects and their resources, as well as a detailed view of each project, to enable companies to control costs and predict the cash flow and profitability of each project,” he notes.

Incasu aims to deploy its systems in medium-sized and large companies, construction companies, farms and farming cooperatives in South Africa and Africa, as well as in the mining and quarrying industries.

The system enables companies to use their daily information flows to inform weekly and monthly performance reports directly, removing inaccuracies and enabling more accurate forecasting, which will boost sustainability and profitability, says De Harde.

A key part of the system is the company’s middleware product that acts as an interface. Disparate and disconnected systems in a com- pany can now communicate with each other to gather information for the Incasu program.