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EMAsphere enters the South African market, announcing a strategic partnership with GreatSoft, a leading CRM software provider for accountants.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of audit and accounting, companies are under increasing pressure to centralize data and access deeper insights faster than ever before.
For Greatsoft, a CRM software leader, serving auditors and accountants for over two decades, these challenges have long been at the heart of their mission.
Today, EMAsphere and GreatSoft are taking a major step forward by partnering together, with the shared ambition to redefine how audit and accounting professionals across Africa access, visualize, and leverage their data for better decision making.
A CRM software leader in South Africa
GreatSoft is a CRM software leader for auditors and accountants, based in South Africa, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Founded in 1999, the company originally distributed a software across Africa. Over time, the company evolved from distributor to developer, building specialized solutions for professionals who depend on accurate time tracking, planning tools, taxation software, and corporate governance compliance.
Today, their clients range from single-person practices to global networks with more than 700–800 staff. Key firms such as BDO, PKF and Baker Tilly rely on GreatSoft’s tools to power their daily operations.
The need for customizable reporting
One of the biggest challenges GreatSoft clients were facing was managing a high volume of crucial information while navigating increasingly complex reporting requirements.
“Clients don’t want to scratch around for different reports anymore,” explains Jean Pick, Managing Director at Greatsoft. “They want that information to come to them.”
To solve this, GreatSoft experimented with traditional BI solutions like Microsoft Power BI. While technically robust, these tools turned out to be challenging for clients to use, as they are:
- Difficult to install
- Complex to maintain
- Hard to customize
- Not scalable across diverse client needs
“Every single client wanted something different out of a dashboard,” Jean recalls. “We couldn’t just roll out one set of BI tools for all the different clients.”
The natural fit for GreatSoft's reporting needs
EMAsphere’s platform, designed specifically for financial and operational reporting, offered what Greatsoft’s clients had long been asking for: flexibility, speed, and simplicity.
“EMAsphere gave us a solution where we could be in control of the dashboard,” says Jean. “The customization bit, to me, was very important.”
With EMAsphere, GreatSoft can now:
- Create practice-specific dashboards
- Adapt views for each client’s needs
- Easily connect multiple data sources
- Deliver insights without heavy IT overhead
From the first conversations, both teams saw a natural alignment. As Bart Baute, CEO of EMAsphere, explains:
“It was clear that there was a real alignment between their strategy and vision and ours. They offer software for the accounting and audit market; EMAsphere offers a reporting solution on top of that data.”
As Jean Pick explained, for GreatSoft finding a reliable partner outside of South Africa was a real challenge. After testing a few reporting solutions, for him the conclusion was clear:
“EMAsphere was very quick to respond and very willing to work with us and understand our market.”
A partnership grounded in shared goals and vision
This partnership marks the beginning of a broader vision: delivering unified, actionable reporting not only to South Africa but across the African continent.
There is an opportunity for firms looking to improve:
- Access to financial & operational data
- Understanding of operational performance
- Cross-data insights (finance, HR, payroll, tax, etc.)
- Decision-making confidence
Both companies see this collaboration as only the beginning.
For GreatSoft, EMAsphere will become the go-to reporting platform for their clients, adding a value to their offering. For EMAsphere, GreatSoft is already a key partner in South Africa, with the potential to open doors across Africa.
As Bart explains,
“Greatoft can be even closer to their clients. They can help them understand the business and the data to make better decisions.
The goal is to ensure GreatSoft is 100% independent in understanding the platform and customizing the reporting for their clients. And it's also interesting to see how we can open new countries based on this experience.”
Shaping the future of data analysis and reporting for auditors and accountants in Africa
The partnership between GreatSoft and EMAsphere brings together local expertise and advanced technology. It's a collaboration built on shared vision, customer-first innovation, and a shared belief that data reporting should be accessible, intuitive, and tailored.
With this partnership, audit and accounting professionals across Africa will gain a clearer, more comprehensive view of their business and will be empowered to make faster, smarter, and more strategic decisions.
Want to learn how EMAsphere and GreatSoft can support your reporting needs? Contact us!