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AtlasOS: software for accountants and tax practitioners

AtlasOS is practice management software for accountants and tax practitioners in South Africa. It keeps every client and entity, the SARS and CIPC compliance calendar, the team's tasks, billing and client communications in one place. Arke Technologies builds it in Johannesburg, and Evolv Accountants runs its compliance work on it.

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

Practice management software for accounting firms, not another ledger

An accounting practice runs two kinds of software. The first does the accounting: each client's books, financial statements and tax returns. The second runs the practice: which clients and entities you carry, what is due for each, who is doing it and what to bill. Practice management software for accounting firms is the second kind, and many practices still fill that gap with spreadsheets and email.

AtlasOS fills it for chartered accountants, bookkeepers and tax practitioners, whatever the size of the practice. It is the accounting configuration of AtlasOS, our practice management software for professional services firms; visit the AtlasOS site  (opens atlaspractice.app) for product detail.

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

What AtlasOS does for an accounting and tax practice

  • Client management and onboarding

    Onboarding creates each client's record once: companies, trusts and individuals, with CIPC and SARS data and the links between related entities, and compliance status across your portfolio.

  • The compliance calendar

    SARS income tax, VAT and PAYE; provisional tax scheduling; CIPC annual returns, with deadline alerts.

  • Workflow and task management

    Each return or filing becomes a task with an owner, a due date and a status, so a manager sees what is done, waiting or at risk.

  • Time and billing

    Time-based, retainer and fixed-fee billing, multi-entity invoicing and client statements.

  • Client inbox

    Staff messaging, a client inbox, task comments and notifications, so questions about a return stay with the return.

  • AI-assisted advisory

    Ask which tasks are overdue or where compliance risk is building; judgement stays with your people.

  • Your practice's brand

    Your logo, colours, email templates and PDF headers, with your data isolated from every other firm.

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

Where AtlasOS sits among the software for accountants you already use

No single package does everything a practice needs. Here is how AtlasOS relates to the rest.

Software categoryWhat it doesWhere AtlasOS fits
Practice management and workflowClients, entities, deadlines, tasks and statusAtlasOS's core
Time and billingTurns work into invoices and statementsAtlasOS billing: time-based, retainer and fixed fee
Tax softwarePrepares tax returnsAtlasOS runs the workflow around each return: schedule, alert, owner, status
Company secretarialCIPC filings and entity recordsAtlasOS holds entity records with CIPC data and tracks annual returns
Payroll processingCalculates pay, PAYE, UIF and SDLAtlasOS for payroll bureaux schedules payroll runs and tracks statutory deadlines
Accounting and financial statement softwareBooks, trial balance, annual financial statementsSeparate; accounting-platform integration is on the roadmap
Auditing softwareAudit files, working papers, sign-offAtlasOS for audit firms runs the engagement lifecycle
Specialist toolsDepreciation, business valuation, financial analysis, AML screeningOutside AtlasOS's six modules

Return preparation, financial statements, depreciation, business valuation, financial analysis and AML screening sit outside AtlasOS's modules; keep the specialist tools you trust for those. AtlasOS makes sure each job is scheduled, owned and tracked to its deadline, so if you are comparing cloud-based tax software for accountants, compare AtlasOS with the practice tools, not the tax engine.

Practices that also run a payroll bureau should read AtlasOS for payroll bureaux; firms that audit, AtlasOS for audit firms. For the ledger itself, see our accounting software service.

In production at Evolv Accountants

Evolv Accountants, our sister company and the AtlasOS reference site, runs its compliance, UIF declarations, salary schedules, inbox and tasks on AtlasOS. Read the case study: AtlasOS at Evolv Accountants.

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

Choosing the best practice management software for accountants

The best software for accountants fits your compliance calendar and the way you charge. Ask every vendor, including us:

  • Compliance. Does it know SARS income tax, VAT, PAYE, provisional tax and CIPC annual returns?
  • Entities. Can it model groups, trusts and the individuals behind them?
  • Oversight. Can a manager see the whole portfolio's status?
  • Time and billing. Does billing match how you charge, and does time tracking suit your staff: a timesheet at day's end, or time recording as they go?
  • Security. How is each firm's data isolated, and where is it hosted?
  • Migration and exit. What does moving your client list across involve, and how would you leave?

A sole tax practitioner and a practice of chartered accountants ask the same questions at different scales.

Free software for accountants, and what it leaves out

Free software for accountants exists: free tiers of practice tools, free time and billing apps and open-source task managers. For a practitioner with a handful of clients, free time and billing software for accountants can be enough.

As the client list grows, what free tools leave out becomes the cost: no SARS or CIPC calendar, no model of related entities, caps on users, and no supplier contractually accountable for security or POPIA. Free practice management software for accountants is a sensible trial, seldom a long-term home. We do not publish AtlasOS pricing on this site; ask during an AtlasOS demo.

Two colleagues work through documents at a shared desk in a busy practice.

Moving your practice onto AtlasOS

  1. Demo

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

  2. Discovery and configuration

    We map your clients, entities, calendars, team and billing, then set up roles and your branding.

  3. Data migration

    Client and entity records and open work, reconciled against your source; see data migration.

  4. Training and go-live

    Training for each role, with go-live away from the peak of a filing season.

  5. Support

    Ongoing support from the team that builds AtlasOS.

Security, POPIA, support and procurement

  • Isolation. Each firm's data is separated at the database level, with sign-in through Firebase Authentication.
  • POPIA and ownership. Your practice remains the responsible party for its clients' personal information, and the data is yours; we never train AI models on client data without explicit consent.
  • Oversight. Compliance status rolls up across the whole client portfolio, and deadline alerts fire ahead of each due date, so whoever signs off sees what is done, waiting or at risk before the deadline, not after it.
  • Support. Existing clients reach the team that builds AtlasOS at support@arketechnologies.com; support terms are set out in your agreement.
  • Continuity. Client records belong to your practice, and we explain how you would leave before you commit.- Procurement. Arke Technologies (Pty) Ltd is a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor (sworn affidavit available on request), giving buyers 135% procurement recognition; company documents, our CSD supplier number and SARS tax compliance status are available on request.

Related guides and practices

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 software do accountants use to run their practice? Show answer

A typical accounting practice runs four kinds of software: an accounting package for client books, tax software for returns, payroll software, and a practice management system for clients, deadlines, tasks and billing. The last is often a spreadsheet. AtlasOS replaces that spreadsheet with one record of every client and entity, its SARS and CIPC deadlines, the team's work and the billing.

Does AtlasOS replace our accounting or tax software? Show answer

No. AtlasOS runs the practice, not the books: it holds your clients and entities, schedules and tracks SARS and CIPC work, assigns tasks, bills clients and keeps client communication in one inbox. Each client's ledger, financial statements and return preparation stay in the accounting and tax software you use, and integration with accounting platforms is on the product roadmap.

How much does AtlasOS cost for an accounting practice? Show answer

We do not publish AtlasOS pricing on this site. What any practice management software costs depends on users, the number of clients and entities, configuration, data migration and training, so we discuss pricing after a demo, once we understand your practice. Book an AtlasOS demo, or visit the AtlasOS site  (opens atlaspractice.app) for product detail.

Is AtlasOS cloud-based, and is our client data safe? Show answer

Yes, AtlasOS is cloud-based: it runs on Google Cloud, with data in PostgreSQL on Google Cloud SQL and sign-in through Firebase Authentication. Each firm's data is isolated at the database level, your practice remains the POPIA responsible party for its clients' information, and we never train AI models on client data without explicit consent.

See AtlasOS with your own client list

Book a demo and we will show AtlasOS working on your entities, your deadlines and the way you bill. Email info@arketechnologies.com or call 010 447 2445.

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