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PAIA Manual

Manual in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000) ("PAIA")

Effective date: 5 July 2026

1. Introduction

This manual is published by Flowstate Systems (Pty) Ltd (registration number K2026509159) ("the Company", "we", "us"), a private body as defined in PAIA. It is intended to help any person who wishes to request access to records held by the Company, as required by section 51 of PAIA. We make it freely available on our website and on request.

The Company operates Flowstate Atlas, a software service that helps manufacturers map and analyse their production processes.

2. Particulars of the Company and the Information Officer

All access requests and enquiries under this manual should be directed to the Information Officer at privacy@flowstatesystems.co.za.

3. The Information Regulator

You may contact or lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator, which oversees PAIA and POPIA:

Information Regulator (South Africa) General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za PAIA/POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za Website: https://inforegulator.org.za

4. The PAIA Guide

The Information Regulator has published a Guide on how to use PAIA, in terms of section 10 of the Act. It explains your rights and how to exercise them, and is available from the Information Regulator at https://inforegulator.org.za or enquiries@inforegulator.org.za.

5. Categories of records held by the Company

Records are held in electronic and, where applicable, paper form. The main categories are:

  • Customer and user records — account details (name, email, organisation, role), authentication data, and user preferences.
  • Operational data entered by customers — process maps, cost inputs, metrics, readings, improvement projects and related analysis.
  • Billing and subscription records — plans, subscription status, AI credit ledger and transaction records. (Full card details are held by our payment processor, not by us.)
  • Support and communications — support tickets, demo requests, and correspondence with users.
  • Consultant project and Custom Build records — quotes, scope, rates and project status for engagements we run for clients, including build briefs, feedback logs and acceptance records.
  • Company statutory and financial records — incorporation and CIPC records, financial, accounting and tax records, insurance and contracts.
  • Service-provider records — agreements with our sub-processors (Supabase, Vercel, Paystack, Anthropic).
  • Employee and human-resources records — where the Company has employees: personnel, payroll and statutory employment records.

Some records may be subject to grounds of refusal under Chapter 4 of PAIA (for example, the mandatory protection of another person's privacy, of third-party commercial information, or of confidential information).

6. Records available in terms of other legislation

Certain records are accessible, or are required to be made available, under other laws, including (where applicable): the Companies Act 71 of 2008; the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011, the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 and the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991; the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA); the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, the Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001 and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993. Access under those laws follows their own procedures.

7. How to request access to a record

  1. Complete the prescribed Request for Access to Record Form (Form 02) issued under the PAIA regulations. The form is available from the Information Regulator's website (https://inforegulator.org.za) and on request from the Information Officer.
  2. Send the completed form to the Information Officer at privacy@flowstatesystems.co.za.
  3. Provide enough detail to identify the record and the requester, identify the right you seek to exercise, and state how you wish to be notified of the outcome.
  4. Fees: PAIA prescribes a request fee and, where access is granted, an access fee (covering reproduction, search and preparation time) in line with the fee schedule in the PAIA regulations. The Information Officer will tell you the applicable fees and any deposit before processing, and current amounts are those prescribed in the regulations from time to time.
  5. The Information Officer will respond within the period required by PAIA (ordinarily 30 days), which may be extended in the circumstances PAIA allows.

8. Grounds for refusal

A request may be refused on any ground set out in Chapter 4 of PAIA — for example, to protect the personal information of a third party, the commercial information of the Company or a third party, or records privileged from production in legal proceedings. If a request is refused, we will give written reasons and explain your remedies.

9. Remedies if a request is refused

A requester who is dissatisfied with a decision may, within 180 days, lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za) or apply to a competent court, as provided for in PAIA.

10. Availability of this manual

This manual is available, free of charge:

It is reviewed and updated when the Company's details or record categories change.

11. Contact

Information Officer: Ziyaad Jasat Flowstate Systems (Pty) Ltd Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa PAIA requests: privacy@flowstatesystems.co.za