--- title: "Contract, Expenditure & Delivery Management Platform | The Shard" url: https://theshard.co.za/products/intelligent-document-expenditure-delivery-management description: "AI-assisted contract, lease and supplier management on Microsoft Azure. Expiry alerts, approvals, spend tracking and audit-ready compliance reports." lang: en --- Contact us on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/27833241850?text=Hello!%20I%27m%20reaching%20out%20from%20The%20Shard%20website.%20I%27d%20like%20to%20learn%20more%20about%20your%20services. For Business and Government # Intelligent Document, Expenditure and Delivery Management Platform Turn paper and digital records into a live, verified record of every contract, lease and project. AI reads each document, a person confirms what matters, and the platform tracks delivery, expiry and spend through to audit. Built on Microsoft Azure One-time PIN and role-based access - One verified record for every contract, lease and project - AI extraction with a named person confirming every field - Alerts, approvals, spend tracking and audit packs in one place Why it matters ## Contract records fail at six points between signing and audit Organisations manage contracts carefully up to signature. Afterwards, nobody owns the record that tracks delivery, expiry and spend. 1. 1 Store ### Scattered records Contracts, leases and reports sit in cabinets, inboxes and spreadsheets, with no version control. 2. 2 Deliver ### Unmeasured suppliers Few service providers are checked against their SLA, signed appointment letters or BBBEE credentials. 3. 3 Change ### No change control Amendments and extensions take effect without an approval step or a record of who agreed. 4. 4 Expire ### Missed expiry dates End dates live in personal diaries, so contracts lapse or roll over without anyone deciding. 5. 5 Pay ### Unmonitored expenditure Manual tracking of invoice dates and amounts delays reporting and hides payment patterns. 6. 6 Audit ### Slow audit evidence Each auditor request takes days of manual collation across folders, emails and finance systems. The solution ## A digital record that replaces cabinets, inboxes and spreadsheets One platform turns paper and digital records into a live, cross-checked record of every contract, lease and project. AI reads each document, and a person confirms what matters. The platform then runs the actions, gives managers one place to record and review supplier delivery against each SLA, tracks spend, and produces the proof an auditor or regulator asks for. One AI engine, one source of truth Contracts, SLAs and leases (physical and digital) Invoices and statements Spreadsheets and finance data Reading One source of truth Interpreting Alerts and workflows Dashboards and reports Compliance and audit packs What the platform does ## Built to keep every record current ### Every contract in one place A repository with full-text search and role-based access, from departmental contracts to unsuccessful bids. ### Spend checked against contract Payments from finance systems are matched to each contract's value, so overspend shows before the auditor finds it. ### Nothing expires unnoticed Alerts go out 6, 3 and 1 months, then 2 and 1 weeks, before every end date. ### Audit packs on demand Compliance reports are built from verified data and download ready to submit. ### Changes need approval Multi-step sign-off and digital signatures on every extension, termination and price change. ### Suppliers measured on delivery SLA, CSD, tax and BBBEE checks for each service provider, kept on the same record. How it works ## Five steps from paper to proof 2. 01 ### Digitise Scan paper files or bring in digital records and whole folders. Every record lands in one searchable store. 3. 02 ### Extract AI reads contracts, SLAs, leases and invoices and fills in key fields, each with a confidence score. 4. 03 ### Verify A named person confirms each field before it counts. Who checked it, and when, stays on record. 5. 04 ### Monitor Alerts before expiry, an approval chain for every change, and tracking of delivery and spend. 6. 05 ### Assure Compliance reports, approvals and digital signatures, with a full audit trail behind every figure. See the platform in action ## Inside the platform: from intake to audit Follow a record through the method: Digitise, Extract, Verify, Monitor, Assure. Click any screen to see it full size. Step 1: Digitise ### Repository Every contract, SLA, lease and appointment letter in searchable collections, with role-based access. 01 / 10 Key features ## 8 modules cover the contract from intake to audit All modules are live today and share one data set, so a change in one place updates every register, report and alert. ### Central repository and search Contracts, service providers, SLAs, leases and appointment letters in searchable collections, from departmental contracts to unsuccessful bids. Repository ### AI extraction and bulk upload Scan paper files or upload whole folders. OCR and vision models fill key fields, and a reviewer confirms each one before it reaches a register. OCR review ### Compliance register An auto-populated compliance report per financial year: contract value, payments made, variations and extensions. Download it or send it for approval. Reports ### Contract lifecycle workflows A duration register flags contracts expiring soon and generates and routes extension, termination and price escalation letters. Workflow ### Approvals and digital signatures Configurable multi-step approval routes, a queue that flags items due within 7 days, and digital sign-off on every change. Approval queue ### Expiry alerts Reminders 6, 3 and 1 months, and 2 and 1 weeks, before each end date, sent to the right users by email, SMS and WhatsApp. Notifications ### Dashboards and analytics An executive contract summary: active service providers, providers on extension, contracts expiring in 30, 60 and 90 days, and payments against contract value. Dashboard ### Registers and supplier checks Operating lease and Global contract registers that match National Treasury data, with CSD verification and SLA gap analysis. Registers Built for every role ## Each stakeholder gets the view their role needs Every function works from the same verified record, with access limited to what its role permits. ### Finance CFO and finance teams - Payments matched to each contract's value and finance data - Payments against expired contracts blocked - Spend on extensions and expiring contracts in one view Technology and security ## Secure by design, on Microsoft Azure ### Hosted on Microsoft Azure Software as a service, bought and billed through Microsoft Marketplace. ### Secure sign-in Password plus one-time PIN, with role-based access to every page and action. ### Full audit trail Every sign-in, change and export is logged; shared documents carry a watermark. ### AI with a human check OCR and vision models extract fields with a confidence score; a named person confirms them. ### Model agnostic Claude, GPT, Gemini or local models, matched to the job. ### Connected Email, SMS and WhatsApp alerts, in-app chat, and links to finance and ERP data. Case study ## A provincial Department of Health Manages hundreds of active service provider contracts, from medical consumables and laundry to facility maintenance and professional services. ### Client challenge - Scattered contracts and zero visibility - Expiry dates kept in personal diaries, so contracts lapsed - Audit risk and irregular expenditure - No formal change control - Compliance reports took months to prepare, and deadlines were missed - No single view of leases or supplier spend - Supplier delivery not reviewed against SLAs ### What we did - Digitised all service provider and lease files into one searchable repository - One platform to manage each tender and contract through its life cycle - Approval and escalation workflows, digital signatures, expiry alerts and an automated compliance report - A document audit of each supplier's key files, such as signed SLAs and appointment letters - Every service provider linked to its spend and CSD data ### Value provided - One source of truth, reachable from anywhere - A single view of all leases, and of each supplier's documents and spend - Changes approved before they take effect, and extensions planned, not rushed - SLA delivery recorded and reviewed in one place - Global contract reports that match National Treasury information - Compliance reports produced on demand from verified data, so deadlines are met Results shown come from one client and will differ by organisation. Who it serves ## For regulated organisations ### Government National and provincial departments, municipalities and state-owned entities. ### Business Financial services, mining, construction, health, retail and property. ### Teams Supply chain, procurement, finance, legal and internal audit. ### Agreements Contracts, SLAs, leases, grants and capital projects. Why organisations choose it ## Made for the audit file - ### Ready for regulated work Built around public sector rules (PFMA, Treasury Global contracts, CSD data, Auditor General reviews) and the audit needs of regulated companies. - ### One record from paper to payment Most contract tools stop at signing. This one follows delivery and spend. - ### AI with a human check Nothing reaches the compliance report until a named person confirms it. - ### Built by people who know audit Built by auditors, actuaries and software engineers who know what an audit file must hold. Getting started ## From pilot to rollout in 4 steps Each engagement starts small, on your own records, and proves its value before it expands. 1. Step 1 ### Discovery sprint Scope the top use case on one department or entity, with a measurable target. 2. Step 2 ### Proof of concept A working build on your own contract data, tested against that target. 3. Step 3 ### Adopt and embed Onboard users, set roles and approval routes, and train teams on the core features. 4. Step 4 ### Measure and scale Track the benefit, then roll out to the next department or entity. ### What every engagement includes - **Sign-off gates.** Written approval before each step begins. - **Weekly reporting.** Progress against the agreed target, every week. - **User onboarding.** Accounts, roles and training for every user. ### Product releases Version 3.2 live Version 3.2 is live, with 13 features shipped and more than 10 in development. Recently shipped - Sign-in with one-time PIN - Repository and full-text search - Compliance report with Word download - Approval workflows and digital signatures - Expiry reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp - Audit logs and document watermarking - Email and chat inside the platform - Operating leases register with Excel export Get started ## See it working on your own records Book a demo with our team, or find the platform on Microsoft Marketplace. James Gachomo Wanjiku: https://theshard.co.za/team/james-wanjiku Managing Partner, Data Science and Analytics jamesg.wanjiku@theshard.co.za Smangaliso Mkhabela: https://theshard.co.za/team/smangaliso-mkhabela Chief Executive Officer smangaliso.mkhabela@theshard.co.za ## Structured data ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "Intelligent Document, Expenditure and Delivery Management Platform", "description": "AI-assisted contract, lease and supplier management on Microsoft Azure. Expiry alerts, approvals, spend tracking and audit-ready compliance reports.", "applicationCategory": "BusinessApplication", "operatingSystem": "Web (Microsoft Azure)", "url": "https://theshard.co.za/products/intelligent-document-expenditure-delivery-management", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The Shard", "url": "https://theshard.co.za" }, "screenshot": [ "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/repository.webp", "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/contract-correspondence.webp", "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/document-audit-dashboards.webp", "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/dashboard.webp", "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/sla-evaluation.webp", "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/price-escalation.webp", "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/approval-workflow.webp", "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/approval-queue.webp", "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/compliance-report.webp", "https://theshard.co.za/images/products/admin.webp" ] } ```