Practice Protection for Professional Firms in South Africa

Free Practice Protection Assessment · approximately 5 minutes

How dependent is the practice on you?

Choose your profession and structure. Five practical questions test what would really happen if you were unexpectedly unavailable and unable to give instructions — who steps in, what can keep moving, what may stop, and which decisions still depend on you.

Free · No payment · No NEXUS account required · Immediate initial result

Step 1 of 3

Select your profession

Choose your profession

Step 2 of 3

Select your practice structure

Your mini report is ready

Confirm your details to view your free report.

Your five answers have been assessed against the selected profession and practice structure. Enter your details below to open the report immediately. PCO also receives the assessment summary so the correct pathway is retained if you decide to continue.

FREE MINI PRACTICE PROTECTION REPORTPractice

5 practical indicators · profession-specific

Overall starting positionDeveloping

Indicators assessed5 / 5

INITIAL INDICATION

Profession

Structure

Next stagePractice Protection Diagnostic

YOUR FIVE INDICATORS

PRIORITY AREAS INDICATED BY YOUR ANSWERS

WHAT THE FULL DIAGNOSTIC WOULD TEST MORE DEEPLY

What this free report does not establish

It does not verify documents, professional eligibility, bank mandates, provider settings, system permissions, evidence or whether the arrangements would work when the principal is unexpectedly unavailable and unable to give instructions.

YOUR NEXT STEP

Move from an indication to a proper Practice Protection Diagnostic.

The full Diagnostic tests the evidence, limits, access, fallbacks and professional/provider dependencies behind these five initial indicators.

Book a private discussion

About PCO

Protection for the moments when normal leadership is interrupted.

Owner-dependent professional practices are built around people, credentials, relationships, systems and decision-making. When a key principal becomes unexpectedly unavailable and cannot give instructions, readiness depends on knowing who can act, what authority they hold, what they can access and where their authority stops.

PCO identifies those dependencies, tests whether the arrangements work together, and develops a controlled Practice Protection Plan around the individual practice.

Why PCO exists

Practice protection should be designed before it is tested.

Most firms know who normally leads them. Fewer have documented how authority, access, responsibility and professional obligations move when that person cannot act. PCO focuses on that operational gap.

What changes when you cannot give instructions?

One day. One week. One month. Different pressures.

PCO does not plan around one dramatic scenario. It looks at ordinary decisions that become difficult when the usual decision-maker becomes unexpectedly unavailable and cannot give instructions.

FIRST 24 HOURS

What cannot wait?

Appointments, urgent client communication, staff questions, deadlines, critical payments, clinical or project handovers and access to essential information.

DAYS 2–7

Who is actually in charge?

Work allocation, suppliers, payroll preparation, client expectations, professional cover, unresolved matters and decisions that cannot simply be postponed.

WEEKS 2–4

Can the practice keep operating safely?

Ongoing authority, banking limits, professional responsibility, contracts, major client decisions, staff management, provider dependencies and escalation.

30+ DAYS

What needs formal action?

Longer-term cover, ownership or partnership decisions, adviser involvement, formal mandates, regulator/provider changes and revised responsibilities.

Why it matters

What changes when a Practice Protection Plan is in place?

A well-structured plan gives the practice a clearer operating position when the usual decision-maker cannot give instructions.

01 · CLEARER AUTHORITY

People know what they may do.

Responsibilities, decision limits and escalation routes are clearer instead of being left to job titles or assumptions.

02 · LESS PRINCIPAL DEPENDENCY

Critical work is less trapped with one person.

Important decisions, access dependencies and fallback responsibilities are identified before they become urgent.

03 · BETTER HANDOVER

Urgent work can be dealt with more deliberately.

Clients, patients, matters and projects can be triaged and handed over to the right person within the right limits.

04 · STRONGER COORDINATION

The right questions reach the right people.

Staff, advisers, banks, providers and registered professionals can see where their role begins, ends or still needs confirmation.

The aim is not to let someone “take over”. It is to make sure the practice already knows what can continue, who may deal with it, and what still requires formal approval.

How the PCO process continues

From diagnostic to a managed Practice Protection Plan.

One connected process: identify the gaps, interrogate the decisions, record the approved arrangements and keep the live protection structure controlled over time.

01DiagnosticIdentify authority, access, dependency and readiness gaps.

02Guided Protection ReviewWork through responsibilities, limits, fallbacks, evidence and professional interfaces.

03Practice Protection PlanConvert approved decisions into clear, controlled practice instructions.

04Managed through NEXUSControl access, amendments, evidence, readiness and version history.

NEXUS is not a generic CRM. It is the managed environment behind the Practice Protection Plan. Identity, access to information and authority to act are treated as separate controls.

Start free 5-minute assessment

PCO NEXUSMANAGED PPP ENVIRONMENT

PRACTICEYour PracticePractice Protection Plan · controlled workspace

READINESSCurrent position

PPPApproved plan

RESPONSIBILITIESControlled access

CHANGESPCO managed

Illustrative fictional environment · no client records used in demonstrations

The PCO approach

One methodology. Profession-specific application.

The protection architecture stays consistent, but the decisions PCO tests change with the profession, business structure, professional rules, client duties, systems and provider dependencies.

01 · PEOPLE

Who steps in?

Primary people, fallbacks, eligibility, conflicts and responsibilities.

02 · AUTHORITY

What may they actually do?

Permitted decisions, limits, triggers, approvals and prohibited actions.

03 · ACCESS

What can they use?

Systems, records, provider portals, information and authentication dependencies.

04 · EVIDENCE

What proves it will work?

Instructions, mandates, provider confirmation, professional formalisation and testing.

What the full Diagnostic checks

Twelve areas that have to work together.

The questions change by profession, but every full Practice Protection Diagnostic looks across the same protection architecture so that one strong arrangement does not hide a weakness somewhere else.

01Decision responsibilityWho normally decides, who can step in, and where decisions must escalate.

02Professional eligibilityRegistration, scope, competence, supervision or other eligibility required for regulated work.

03Client / patient / matter handoverWhat is live, urgent, incomplete or at risk if the principal stops giving instructions.

04Records & information custodyWho may see records, what must stay confidential, and how minimum-necessary access is controlled.

05Systems & authenticationNamed user access, portals, MFA, recovery routes and single-person credential dependencies.

06Money & payment limitsBanking, payroll, suppliers, refunds, trust/client money where relevant, approval limits and backups.

07Contracts, mandates & approvalsWho may instruct, approve, sign, vary, renew or escalate commitments.

08Providers & third partiesBanks, medical aids, SARS, regulators, laboratories, insurers, vendors and other external dependencies.

09Deadlines & renewalsFilings, prescription/court dates, project milestones, licence renewals, audits and client promises.

10Staff & operating coordinationWhat managers and staff may do, where their limits sit, and which decisions cannot be delegated casually.

11Escalation & prohibited actionsWhat must not be done without the principal, a registered professional, adviser, bank or provider approval.

12Evidence, testing & reviewWhat proves the arrangement exists, who has accepted the role, and whether access and fallbacks have been tested.

Who PCO is for

Professional practices share a problem — not identical rules.

Select a profession to see the practice structures, diagnostic focus and examples of the authority questions PCO would test.

Choose your profession

Professional adviser alignment

PCO works between the moving parts — not instead of them.

Where a decision requires professional advice, legal formalisation, regulated sign-off, provider approval or a registered professional, that responsibility remains with the relevant adviser, regulator, institution or registered person.

Attorney

Legal advice, formal legal instruments and legal interpretation remain with the practice’s appointed attorney.

Accountant / tax adviser

Accounting, tax, financial reporting and specialist financial advice remain with the appointed professional.

Professional regulator

Registration, scope-of-practice, professional conduct and regulated sign-off requirements remain governed by the applicable professional framework.

Bank / system / provider

PCO can identify a dependency and required authority; the provider remains responsible for its own access, authentication, mandate and approval rules.

The diagnostic output

Know what you will receive.

The full Practice Protection Diagnostic is designed to move beyond “do you have a document?” and examine whether authority, responsibility, access, limits, evidence, fallbacks and professional interfaces actually line up.

Executive observationsAuthority structureCritical dependenciesPriority findingsProfessional interfacesRecommended next steps

NEXUS · Practice Protection Diagnostic
Fictional demonstration

12 DOMAINS

Authority & decision-makingPriority

Access & authentication dependenciesAttention

Fallback responsibilityPriority

Financial controlsEstablished

Professional interfacesAttention

Evidence & implementationPriority

Already have arrangements in place?

“We already have a Will, Power of Attorney, manager, partner or accountant.”

Those arrangements may be important. PCO asks a different question: if the usual decision-maker cannot give the instruction, is it already clear who may act, what they may do, what they may access, what their limits are, when the arrangement activates and what still requires formal approval?

Who can act?

On what?

Within what limits?

When does it begin?

Who is the fallback?

What still needs formalisation?

Access is not authority. A person can know the password and still lack authority. A person can hold authority and still be blocked by a provider’s authentication rules, professional-registration requirements or missing evidence.

Professional fees

The Diagnostic fee is set by pathway. The work after it is set by actual scope.

Smaller owner-dependent practices should not automatically carry the same entry price as a medical clinic, law firm or regulated multi-practitioner environment. Select the profession and structure below to see the Practice Protection Diagnostic fee. Later-stage fees are confirmed only after the Diagnostic shows the actual scope.

How pricing works: the Practice Protection Diagnostic has a defined pathway fee. The Guided Protection Review and Practice Protection Plan remain scope-assessed because the Diagnostic may reveal very different numbers of decisions, people, systems, regulated interfaces and evidence requirements.

Standard published scope: prices apply to one legal entity and an ordinary small-to-medium professional practice. Multi-entity groups, more than 10 professionals, or more than two operating locations / branches are confirmed by PCO before payment so that a materially larger review is not forced into a standard pathway fee.

HOW THE DIAGNOSTIC WORKS IN PRACTICEStart online. Complete it carefully. PCO reviews what your answers actually reveal.

You do not need to prepare a large document pack before starting. Complete the profession-specific Diagnostic in NEXUS using the information reasonably available to you. Where an answer depends on a document, provider setting, professional eligibility, bank mandate, system permission or other evidence, the Diagnostic identifies that dependency for verification rather than assuming it is effective.

01 · Diagnostic

Practice Protection Diagnostic

excl. VAT · selected pathway fee

Profession-specific assessment and formal findings report for the selected practice structure.

Profession-specific question pathway
12 protection areas
Authority, access and dependency findings
Priority issues and next-stage scope indication

Payment: PayFast or verified EFT. NEXUS Diagnostic access is activated after payment confirmation.

02 · Guided

Guided Protection Review

Scope-assessed

fee confirmed after the Diagnostic

PCO works through the Diagnostic findings decision by decision and confirms what has to be established, evidenced, limited, escalated or formally checked.

Fee determined by assessed scope
PCO-approved quotation before proceeding
Responsibilities, limits and fallbacks
Adviser / provider questions prepared where needed

Paid separately after the Diagnostic. It is not an automatic online checkout or a one-size-fits-all session.

Discuss the Guided Review

03 · Plan

Practice Protection Plan

Scope-assessed

fee confirmed before the stage proceeds

The approved practice-specific decisions are converted into a controlled working plan and managed through NEXUS.

Time-based responsibilities and fallbacks
Authority / limit / escalation structure
Evidence and professional interfaces
NEXUS-managed PPP and version history

Final fee is confirmed after scope is understood. Legal, accounting, regulatory, banking and provider actions remain with the relevant professional or institution.

Discuss the PPP

What happens after the Diagnostic payment?

01Payment confirmedPayFast confirmation or PCO verifies EFT.

02NEXUS accessThe correct profession and structure pathway is activated.

03Diagnostic completedThe client completes the structured assessment; submitted answers become locked.

04Findings producedPCO reviews the result, dependencies and priority issues.

05Next scope confirmedThe Guided Review / PPP fee is confirmed before any later stage proceeds.

Practice Protection Diagnostic Practice Protection Plan PCO NEXUS

Practical questions

What professional practices usually want to understand before proceeding.

Lira can answer these and many more questions from the floating “Ask Lira” button.

What exactly does PCO do?

PCO identifies what depends on the principal, who could step in, what those people may actually do, which systems they need, what limits apply, where backups are missing and what still needs confirmation from an attorney, accountant, bank, regulator or provider. The agreed arrangements can then be built into a Practice Protection Plan and managed through NEXUS.

Is PCO trying to replace my attorney, accountant or professional adviser?

No. PCO works on the operational protection layer: people, authority, access, limits, evidence, fallbacks and interfaces. Legal advice, accounting advice, regulated professional sign-off and provider approvals remain with the appropriately authorised professional or institution.

Does the same Practice Protection Plan work for every profession?

No. The underlying method is consistent, but the questions change. Legal practices can have trust and matter-deadline issues; pharmacies have responsible-pharmacist and medicine-control dependencies; engineering and architecture have registered-professional boundaries; financial-services firms have key-individual and representative roles; property firms may have Fidelity Fund and trust-money controls; tax practices have eFiling delegation and filing deadlines.

What exactly is PCO NEXUS?

NEXUS is the controlled protection platform behind the Practice Protection Plan. It connects the Diagnostic, findings, Guided Protection Review, approved decisions, evidence, PPP and later changes. NEXUS deliberately separates identity, access to information and authority to act.

Who can see the full Practice Protection Plan?

The principal and up to two nominated full-access people can be given the authorised full PPP view. Other people receive access limited to the responsibilities and information assigned to them. Seeing information does not itself create authority.

Why does pricing change between professions?

Because the work is not identical. The number of decision-makers, regulated professional functions, client duties, trust or medicine controls, technical sign-off, software/provider dependencies, evidence requirements and fallback arrangements all affect scope. PCO confirms the fee before the client proceeds.

Can I use my own attorney and accountant?

Yes. That is the intended model. PCO identifies where specialist formalisation is required and prepares the operational decisions and supporting information for discussion with the practice’s appointed advisers.

Does a password or shared login solve the access problem?

No. Knowing a password is not the same as being authorised to use a system or make a decision. Where proper delegated users, rights or provider mandates are available, those should be used rather than relying on shared credentials.

What if my profession is not listed?

Select “Other Professional” or ask Lira. PCO can first determine whether the practice has the kind of owner-dependence, regulated responsibility, critical system access or client commitments that make a Practice Protection Diagnostic useful.

Is the free practice check a compliance certificate?

No. It is a short starting-point check. It does not verify documents, provider settings, professional eligibility, regulator requirements, bank mandates or operational implementation.

Why are Dental, Optometry, Allied Health and other smaller practices priced below some larger or more regulated pathways?

Because PCO is pricing the work that has to be examined, not the prestige of the profession. A sole allied-health practice may have fewer people, systems and regulated interfaces than a medical clinic, law firm, pharmacy or multi-discipline engineering practice. The lower starting fee keeps the Diagnostic commercially proportionate while the findings still determine the actual scope of later work.

Why does the Diagnostic start at R4,500?

Even the simplest pathway still requires a full profession-specific review across the 12 protection areas, analysis of the submitted answers, a formal findings report and PCO quality review. R4,500 is the minimum standard Diagnostic fee; larger or more regulated pathways increase from there according to the work involved.

Which stages can I pay through PayFast?

The Practice Protection Diagnostic is the online-payment stage. PayFast links are set by Diagnostic fee band and the checkout amount includes VAT. Verified EFT is also available. The Guided Protection Review and Practice Protection Plan are quoted after the Diagnostic because their scope is determined by the actual findings.

What happens after I pay for the Diagnostic?

Once PayFast confirms the payment, or PCO verifies an EFT, the correct NEXUS Diagnostic pathway is activated. You complete the profession-specific assessment, the submitted answers are locked, PCO reviews the findings, and the next stage is scoped before any further fee is approved.

THE PERSON BEHIND PCO

Nadean McBride

PCO · Practice Protection

Business ManagementOperations ManagementProcess & operational coordination

Who leads PCO

Operational thinking behind a practical protection process.

PCO is led by Nadean McBride, with a professional background in Business Management and Operations Management. The approach starts with a practical question: what has to keep working when the person who normally makes the decisions cannot do so?

PCO maps people, responsibilities, decision rights, system access, limits, evidence and fallbacks, then works alongside the practice’s own attorney, accountant and other advisers where specialist advice or formalisation is required.

Independent by design. PCO does not replace the professionals already advising the practice. It identifies where their input is needed and helps the practice bring the moving parts together into one working protection structure.

Confidential enquiry

Start with where your practice is today.

Not sure which pathway fits? Request a private discussion and PCO can clarify the profession, structure and appropriate next step.

Practice Continuity Office (Pty) Ltd
Stellenbosch, South Africa
In-person consultations available in Stellenbosch and Cape Town.

Phone: +27 79 349 4914
Email: info@pcosa.co.za
Website: pcosa.co.za

Privacy

PCO Privacy Notice

Practice Continuity Office (Pty) Ltd uses personal information to respond to enquiries, administer assessments, prepare the correct Diagnostic pathway, deliver selected services and communicate with clients about their engagements.

PCO aims to collect only the information reasonably required for those purposes. Free Assessment and Diagnostic information is treated as confidential. PCO does not sell personal information or assessment responses.

Information is shared only where necessary to deliver the selected service, where required by law, or where the client asks PCO to coordinate with an appointed adviser or provider. Legal, accounting, regulated professional and provider responsibilities remain with the relevant authorised person or institution.

For privacy enquiries, contact info@pcosa.co.za.

Practice Continuity Office (Pty) Ltd · Registration 2026/126439/07 · Stellenbosch, South Africa