Compliance Overview
The Compliance module is the heart of practice management in Atlas. It tracks every regulatory obligation your entities have — tax returns, CIPC annual returns, VAT, PAYE, and more — ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
How Compliance Works
Every entity has a set of obligations — filings that must be submitted to SARS, CIPC, or other authorities by specific deadlines. Atlas tracks each obligation through a lifecycle from assignment to completion.
Obligation Lifecycle
Not Started → In Preparation → Ready for Review → Filed → Assessed → Complete
| Status | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Not Started | Grey | Obligation exists but work hasn't begun |
| In Preparation | Blue | Currently being prepared by staff |
| Ready for Review | Yellow | Awaiting partner/manager review |
| Filed | Orange | Submitted to the authority |
| Assessed | Purple | Assessment received from SARS |
| Complete | Green | Fully resolved — no further action needed |
| Overdue | Red | Past the deadline and not yet filed |
Compliance Grid
The main Compliance view shows a grid of all obligations across your entities:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Entity | Client entity name |
| Obligation Type | VAT201, EMP201, ITR14, CIPC AR, etc. |
| Period | Tax period or filing period |
| Due Date | Submission deadline |
| Status | Current lifecycle status |
| Assigned To | Staff member responsible |
| Days Remaining | Countdown to deadline (negative if overdue) |
Filtering & Sorting
- By entity — see all obligations for one entity
- By type — e.g. show only VAT201s
- By status — e.g. show only overdue items
- By period — filter by month/quarter/year
- By assigned user — show only your obligations
Obligation Types
Atlas includes built-in South African obligation types:
| Type | Authority | Frequency | Typical Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAT201 | SARS | Monthly/bi-monthly | 25th of following month |
| EMP201 | SARS | Monthly | 7th of following month |
| EMP501 | SARS | Annual | End of October |
| ITR12 | SARS | Annual | Filing season deadline |
| ITR14 | SARS | Annual | 12 months after year-end |
| IRP6 | SARS | Bi-annual | End of Aug / End of Feb |
| CIPC Annual Return | CIPC | Annual | Anniversary of registration |
| IT3 | SARS | Annual | End of May |
Deadline Alerts
Atlas sends alerts for approaching deadlines:
- 7 days before — "approaching" notification
- On the day — "due today" notification
- After deadline — "overdue" alert (escalated)
Next Steps
- Compliance Calendar — visual deadline tracking
- Creating Obligations — manual and bulk creation
- Compliance Templates — auto-generate from templates
- SARS Integration — eFiling sync