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AtlasOS: practice management software for professional services firms

AtlasOS is practice management software for professional services firms: accounting and tax practices in South Africa, audit firms, payroll bureaux and nonprofits. Owned, built and supported by Arke Technologies (Pty) Ltd in Johannesburg, it runs client and entity records, SARS and CIPC compliance workflows, billing and client communications on one platform.

Book an AtlasOS demoVisit the AtlasOS site  (opens atlaspractice.app)

What is practice management software?

Practice management software is designed to manage the business of running a professional practice: who the clients are, what is due for each and when, who is doing the work, and what to bill. A practice management system (PMS) replaces the spreadsheets, diaries, email folders and memory most firms start with, so the whole practice works from one record.

The meaning shifts with the profession. In an accounting or audit firm, a practice management software system centres on client entities, statutory deadlines, tasks and billing; in a medical practice, on bookings and claims. A close relative is PSA software (professional services automation), which consultancies and agencies use to plan projects, schedule people and bill their time. Each is an electronic practice management system: the firm's operating record, kept in software rather than on paper.

AtlasOS is practice management software for firms that carry compliance for their clients, and one of our platforms. For product detail, visit the AtlasOS site  (opens atlaspractice.app).

An accountant works through paperwork at a desk stacked with client files.

Six modules on one platform

AtlasOS is one platform, not a set of products bolted together. The core modules are common to every firm, and the configuration for your type of practice sits on top.

  • Client and entity management

    Companies, trusts and individuals, with their CIPC and SARS data, the links between related entities, and compliance status across your portfolio.

  • Compliance and workflow

    SARS and CIPC workflows with scheduling, deadline alerts, task assignment and status tracking.

  • AI-assisted advisory

    Staff ask plain questions of the practice's own data: overdue tasks, emerging compliance risks, a client summary. It supports decisions without replacing professional judgement.

  • Billing and practice finance

    Time-based, retainer and fixed-fee billing, multi-entity invoicing and client statements; integration with accounting platforms is on the product roadmap.

  • Communications and inbox

    Staff messaging, a client inbox, task comments and notifications, so the conversation stays with the work.

  • Branding and multi-tenancy

    Each firm's logo, colours, email templates and PDF headers, with full data isolation between firms.

Two advisers review a document together beside a laptop.

Which firms AtlasOS is configured for

The core is shared; each vertical configures it for one profession's work. Status is as at September 2026; the AtlasOS site  (opens atlaspractice.app) carries current detail.

Type of firmStatusWhat the configuration covers
Accounting and tax practices, including bookkeeping practicesLive: South AfricaSARS income tax, VAT and PAYE; CIPC annual returns; provisional tax scheduling
Audit and assurance firmsLive: South AfricaEngagement lifecycle, document collection and version control, for firms working under IRBA and IFAC standards
Payroll bureauxLivePayroll-run scheduling, UIF, SDL and PAYE deadlines, statutory submission tracking
Nonprofits and NGOsAvailableDonor management, grant compliance, board governance, programme monitoring
Legal practicesComing: in scopingMatter management, trust accounting integration, FICA compliance tracking

Size does not change what a practice needs. Small practice management software must still hold every entity and every deadline; a sole practitioner simply carries fewer of them than a larger firm. In the United States the same category is sold as CPA firm practice management software; here the buyers are chartered accountants, accountants in public practice, bookkeepers, tax practitioners, auditors and payroll bureaux.

Practice management software for architects and consulting engineers centres on projects, fee stages and drawings, and AtlasOS is not configured for architecture practices today. If your firm's work runs on a recurring compliance cycle like the ones above, talk to us about fit.

Practice management software in South Africa: professional or clinical?

In our search research for practice management software in South Africa (September 2026), four of Google's top five results were clinical systems. GP and physician practices, psychologists in private practice, physio and physical therapy practices, chiropractic clinics, occupational therapy and nutrition practices, podiatry, optometry and optical practices, ophthalmology and veterinary clinics each run a private practice management system of their own.

Those systems book appointments, submit claims to medical schemes and keep an electronic medical record (EMR) or electronic health record (EHR). If that is what you need, look for EMR and practice management software built for your discipline.

AtlasOS is not clinical software: it has no health record and does not submit medical scheme claims. For the IT, security and POPIA work around a clinical system, see IT for healthcare and pharmacy.

An accountant uses a calculator beside client files in an open office.

In production at Evolv Accountants

AtlasOS is in production. Evolv Accountants, our sister company, runs its compliance, UIF declarations, salary schedules, inbox and tasks on it, and is the reference site for every firm that follows. The case study AtlasOS at Evolv Accountants shows it in daily use.

Atlas OS gives us visibility across 89 entities that we simply did not have before. The compliance tracking alone has saved us significant time every month.

Evolv AccountantsAtlasOS client, South Africa

How AtlasOS is built, and how it protects client data

A practice holds identity numbers, tax numbers, payroll records and financial statements for every client, so the architecture matters.

  • Online, in the browser. AtlasOS is online practice management software built on Next.js and React, running on Firebase App Hosting with Cloud Scheduler.
  • A relational database. PostgreSQL on Google Cloud SQL, suited to the web of links between clients, entities, deadlines and invoices.
  • Isolation between firms. Each firm's data is separated at the database level, not merely hidden in the interface.
  • Identity management. Sign-in runs on Firebase Authentication, Google's managed identity service, rather than a home-grown password store or a self-hosted open-source identity management system.
  • AI with people in charge. The AI recommends and staff decide, and we never train models on client data without explicit consent. See how we use AI and AI governance.
  • POPIA. Your firm remains the responsible party for its clients' personal information; our POPIA compliance service covers the rest of the firm.
  • Your data stays yours. Client data belongs to your firm.

Free, open-source or purpose-built?

Most firms weigh five routes. Each has a place; the question is who carries the work a licence fee would otherwise pay for.

RouteWhat you getWhat it costs youSuits
Spreadsheets and emailFamiliar tools, no new licenceDeadlines live in people's heads; no audit trail; hard to hand over when someone leavesA sole practitioner with few clients
Free practice management softwareBasic client lists and tasks, sometimes time and billingCaps on users or clients; little South African compliance content; limited supportA very small practice testing the idea
Open source practice management softwareCode you can host and changeHosting, security patches, backups and POPIA controls are yours; SARS and CIPC workflows must be builtFirms with their own developers
General PSA or project toolsProjects, resources and billable timeBuilt for one-off projects, not recurring statutory deadlines per entityConsultancies and agencies
Purpose-built practice software, such as AtlasOSEntity records, SARS and CIPC workflows, billing and inbox togetherLicence fees and a migration projectFirms that carry compliance for many clients

A free or open-source tool can be the right place to start. Once a practice carries statutory deadlines for many clients, the hosting, patching, backups and compliance calendar it must maintain itself can soon cost more than the licence it saved.

What practice management software costs, and what drives it

Practice management software cost depends less on the headline subscription than on what it takes to run the firm on it. For any vendor, the drivers are:

  • Users: how many people sign in, and in which roles.
  • Clients and entities: the size of the portfolio the system carries.
  • Configuration: the vertical, modules and branding you need.
  • Migration: moving client records, open work and billing history from spreadsheets or an old system; see data migration.
  • Integration with accounting, payroll or document tools; see systems integration.
  • Training and change: the time your team spends learning a new way of working, the cost most often underestimated.
  • Exit: what it would take to leave, and in what form your data comes back.

We do not publish AtlasOS pricing on this site. Book an AtlasOS demo and we will discuss it once we understand your firm.

Last reviewed: September 2026.

How to choose practice management software

There is no single best practice management software, only the best fit for your profession, regulators and size. Top 10 lists and review sites give you a list of practice management software to start from, but many are written for other markets. Test each option against your own work:

  1. Compliance calendar. Does it know SARS and CIPC?
  2. Entities. Can it model a holding company, its subsidiaries, a family trust and the people behind them?
  3. Workflow. Do deadlines, owners and status roll up so a manager sees the whole portfolio?
  4. Billing. Does it match how you charge: time, retainer or fixed fee?
  5. Data protection. How is each firm's data isolated, and where is it hosted?
  6. AI. What does the AI see, and who makes the decision?
  7. Migration and exit. What does moving in involve, and how would you leave?
  8. Support. Do the people who support it also build it?

We answer each of these in an AtlasOS demo, using scenarios from your practice.

How a firm moves onto AtlasOS

  1. Demonstration

    We show AtlasOS working on scenarios from your practice before we propose anything.

  2. Discovery

    We map your clients, entities, deadlines, team and billing methods, and agree what comes across.

  3. Configuration

    Your vertical, compliance calendars, roles and branding: logo, colours, email templates and PDF headers.

  4. Data migration

    Client and entity records and open work, reconciled against your source before anyone relies on them.

  5. Training and go-live

    Training for each role, then go-live at a quieter point in your compliance calendar.

  6. Support

    Ongoing support from the team that builds the platform.

Buying AtlasOS: procurement, support and continuity

  • One accountable supplier. You contract with Arke Technologies (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2017/386810/07, VAT number 4750287957), the company that owns, builds and supports AtlasOS, with no reseller in between.
  • Procurement documents. We are a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor (sworn affidavit available on request), giving buyers 135% procurement recognition. Company documents, a bank confirmation letter, our CSD supplier number and our SARS tax compliance status are available on request.
  • Support and escalation. Existing clients reach the team that builds AtlasOS at support@arketechnologies.com. Support terms are set in each firm's agreement: incidents are prioritised on a P1 to P4 scale, from a critical outage to a low-impact request, with response and resolution targets matched to the impact on your practice and agreed with you.
  • Continuity. Your client data and documents belong to your firm. We explain how you would leave during the demo, before you commit, not when you want to go.

For the IT around the practice itself, see IT for accounting, audit and professional services firms. Our sibling platform, Hesper, runs IT operations for managed service providers and in-house IT teams, and launches in November 2026. We also build platforms for other organisations through SaaS product development.

Book an AtlasOS demo

See how AtlasOS handles client and entity management, SARS and CIPC compliance workflows, billing and client communications for a firm like yours. Product detail is on the AtlasOS site  (opens atlaspractice.app).

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Frequently asked questions

What is practice management software? Show answer

Practice management software is the system a professional practice runs on: it holds the client list, tracks what is due for each client, assigns the work and bills for it. In accounting, audit and payroll firms it centres on statutory deadlines; in medical practices, on bookings and claims. AtlasOS is practice management software for professional services firms in South Africa.

What is the best practice management software in South Africa? Show answer

The best practice management software is the one built for your profession and your regulators. For accounting, audit and payroll firms in South Africa, that means SARS and CIPC workflows, entity records, deadline tracking and billing in one system. Test any shortlist against your own compliance calendar, your data-protection duties and the exit terms.

What are some examples of practice management software? Show answer

Examples fall into families: clinical systems for GPs, dentists and allied health practices; legal practice management with matters and trust accounting; PSA tools for consultancies and agencies; and compliance-led platforms for accounting, audit and payroll firms. AtlasOS belongs to the last family, configured for accounting and tax practices, audit firms, payroll bureaux and nonprofits.

What software do GP practices use, and does AtlasOS suit them? Show answer

GP practices usually use a clinical practice management system that books appointments, submits medical scheme claims and keeps an electronic health record. AtlasOS is not a clinical system: it has no health record and does not submit claims, so it does not suit GP, physician or allied health practices.

Is there free or open-source practice management software? Show answer

Yes: several vendors offer free tiers, and open-source practice management software exists that a firm can host itself. Free tiers usually cap users or clients, and open source leaves hosting, security, backups, POPIA controls and compliance workflows to you. For a firm carrying statutory deadlines for many clients, that work can soon outweigh the licence saved.

How much does practice management software cost? Show answer

Practice management software cost depends on the number of users, clients and entities, the modules you need, and the migration, integration and training involved. The subscription is often not the largest cost; moving data and changing how the team works can be. We do not publish AtlasOS pricing on this site: book a demo and we will discuss it once we understand your firm.

What does PSA mean in software? Show answer

PSA stands for professional services automation: software that plans projects, schedules people, records billable time and invoices clients, used mainly by consultancies, agencies and IT service firms. Practice management software overlaps with PSA but centres on recurring statutory work for each client, such as tax returns and annual returns, rather than one-off projects.

See AtlasOS working on your practice

Book a demo and we will walk through AtlasOS with scenarios from your firm: your entities, your deadlines, the way you bill. Email info@arketechnologies.com or call 010 447 2445. We aim to respond to new enquiries within one business day.

Book an AtlasOS demoVisit the AtlasOS site  (opens atlaspractice.app)