According to a recent article featured by Fin 24, South Africa is now ranked 84th out of 190 countries relating to comfort of doing business, compared to a very good position of 32^nd in 2008.

It is now rather obvious that dealing with technical business matters in your own capacity might not be in your own best interest.

In another article published by Businesstech.com, it has come to light that a company can now be registered in South Africa for a mere R175.00.

Although this revelation is very appealing, the question is, what does this R175 actually entail and will it enable you as entrepreneur to, start up a new company and actually conduct business?

As great as this would be, the answer is simply no. The R175 only enables you to register a company, getting it to a point where it can start dealing in business is a whole different story. Doing a company registration through a CIPC specialist is undoubtedly the safest and most efficient route to take.

CIPC specialists understand the company registration process be it a local company or a foreign company looking to open a branch in South Africa, tax registrations, opening of business bank accounts, registering for VAT and tending to company’s annual returns to ensure it is kept compliant with CIPC and SARS.

Steps to Get Your Company Ready to Legally Conduct Business

The next obvious question and is commonly posed by those seeking to conduct business in South Africa is: What is the process to start a company in South Africa?

Step 1: Name Reservation
You are required to give a maximum of 4 names to your CIPC specialist, listed in preferred order. The system then runs an audit to ensure no conflicting company names that have already been registered. Once a name is approved the specialist can start with the company registration process.

Step 2: Registering a Company
In this stage, your CIPC specialist will be required to confirm what type of company is to be registered, the number of directors that will be appointed, their details, the companies address, along with how much shares each director will own, to name a few. Once your specialist has confirmed all of the information with the CIPC, your company registration process can proceed.

Step 3: Registering for Income Tax with SARS
Once your company is registered you will now be required, by law, to do an Income Tax Registration with SARS. This is where a CIPC specialist with tax expertise comes in handy, especially those who have an intricate understanding of the inner workings at SARS, as they can expedite this process, which can sometimes drag along and cause unnecessary stress and pain.

Step 4: Opening a business bank account
Now that your company is registered and compliant according to SARS regulations, you will need to open a business bank account for trading. This can be a time-consuming process, often taking up to 50 days. However, a CIPC specialist that understands the system and what the process entails, can have a newly opened bank account within a mere 21 days.

A Partner Worth Their Weight in Gold

It is important to ensure that your newly registered company stays compliant with the CIPC and SARS thus allowing for a smooth flow of business. This alleviates pressure from new company owners who are not as informed on these technical matters. Taking above mentioned facts into consideration it is a clean-cut case, having a CIPC specialist in your corner is not to be considered a luxury but rather a necessity.

Pierre Schoeman
Company Registration Admin