We register your (Pty) Ltd with CIPC, make sure SARS has you set up correctly and keep the company compliant every year after that — so you can open the bank account, win the contract and get on with trading. For new businesses anywhere in South Africa.
Plenty of websites will register a company for you. We also make sure it is set up correctly with SARS and stays compliant.
Name reservation, Memorandum of Incorporation, directors and registered address — filed with CIPC and your registration certificate delivered.
CIPC passes your details to SARS, which issues an income tax number automatically. We activate eFiling and appoint the registered representative so the company actually works.
Everything you need to open a business bank account and apply for tenders: registration documents, share certificates and a tax compliance PIN.
Every company must file an annual return with CIPC each year, or it is eventually deregistered. We file it on time, every year.
CIPC requires a beneficial ownership declaration — and blocks your annual return until it is filed. We prepare and submit it.
Directors come and go, addresses and names change, and sometimes a company has run its course. We file the amendments correctly.
Companies are registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). The most common choice for a small business is a private company — a (Pty) Ltd — which gives you a separate legal entity, limited liability and a structure that banks, customers and tenders recognise.
The process itself is simple when the paperwork is right:
We prepare and file everything, deal with CIPC queries and send you the complete set of documents the bank will ask for.
Your registration certificate and MOI, a company registration number, and — because CIPC and SARS are linked — an income tax reference number issued automatically by SARS. That tax number is the start of the company's SARS life, not the end: someone must be appointed as the registered representative, the eFiling profile must be activated and the company becomes a provisional taxpayer immediately, trading or not. We finish that set-up as part of the registration, so the company is compliant from its first month.
Banks need your CIPC documents, proof of address and, usually, confirmation of the directors and shareholders. Tenders and larger customers want a tax clearance (TCS PIN), which we request as soon as the SARS profile is active. If you will employ staff we register you for PAYE and UIF; if your turnover will pass R2.3 million we plan the VAT registration; and we set up the bookkeeping so the company's records are right from the first invoice.
A sole proprietorship is the simplest way to trade: no registration, business income taxed on your personal return. But you are personally liable for the business's debts, and above a certain profit level you may pay more tax than a company would. A (Pty) Ltd separates you from the business, pays company tax at 27% — or on the lower small business corporation scale, starting at 0% on the first R99 000 of taxable income, if it qualifies — and is often required by customers, landlords and funders. It also brings obligations: annual financial statements, an ITR14, provisional tax, CIPC annual returns and beneficial ownership filings. We will talk through which suits you before you register.
Every company must file an annual return with CIPC within 30 business days after the anniversary of its incorporation date; close corporations file within the anniversary month and the month after. The return confirms the company is still active and is accompanied by either a Financial Accountability Supplement (most small companies) or the annual financial statements (larger ones). The filing fee is modest, but the consequence of forgetting is not: after two years of missed returns CIPC starts deregistering the company, which freezes the bank account and strips directors of the company's protection. We put every client company's anniversary on our calendar.
Since 2023 companies must file a beneficial ownership declaration with CIPC, identifying the natural persons who ultimately own or control the company, and update it when shareholding changes. CIPC's system will not accept an annual return until the declaration is on file — so an outstanding beneficial ownership filing quietly blocks everything else. We compile the register and the supporting documents and submit the declaration for you.
A registered company has a short list of yearly obligations: CIPC annual return and beneficial ownership, two IRP6 provisional tax returns, the ITR14 company tax return within 12 months of year-end, and monthly or bi-monthly EMP201 and VAT201 returns if registered. Our monthly bookkeeping clients get all of this as one package, with one team that knows the company.
Already registered but never did the SARS side? That is common. We check the company's SARS status, appoint the registered representative, file any outstanding returns and bring it fully up to date.
What a new (Pty) Ltd needs to know in its first year.
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission registers companies and keeps the register of directors and beneficial owners.
Issued by SARS when CIPC registers the company — but eFiling and the registered representative still need setting up.
Opens on the anniversary of incorporation each year. Miss two years and deregistration begins.
The declaration must be on file with CIPC or the annual return is blocked.
Standard rate 27%; qualifying small business corporations pay a sliding scale starting at 0% on the first R99 000.
Plus two IRP6 provisional returns a year from the date of registration.
Need the company registered for a specific tender or contract date? Tell us — we'll work to it.
Start my company registrationWe do the forms, CIPC does the registering, and you get a company that is ready to trade.
Proposed name(s), directors' certified IDs, a registered address and how the shares will be held. We confirm the details on WhatsApp.
Name reservation (if you want one), the MOI and the incorporation documents are prepared and submitted. We handle any CIPC queries.
You receive the registration certificate and documents for the bank, the SARS profile is activated and your tax clearance is requested.
CIPC usually processes a straightforward application within a few business days, although name reservations and periods of high demand can add time. The SARS set-up that follows normally takes a few more days.
No. You can register the company under its registration number as the name and reserve or change the name later. If you have a name you want, we reserve it first so it is protected.
Yes. Foreign nationals can be directors and shareholders of a South African company, using a passport instead of an ID. The company must have a registered address in South Africa.
A close corporation (CC) is an older form of small business entity; no new CCs can be registered since 2011, although existing ones continue. New businesses register a (Pty) Ltd.
No. VAT registration is only compulsory once taxable supplies exceed R2.3 million in 12 months, and voluntary above R120 000. We will advise when it makes sense for you.
Yes. Company registration is done online with CIPC and SARS, and we register companies for clients throughout Gauteng, in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and across South Africa. Documents are exchanged by email and WhatsApp.
Tax numbers, eFiling, registered representatives and VAT, PAYE, UIF and SDL registrations.
Read more →Tax Compliance Status PINs for tenders, contracts, financing and international transfers.
Read more →Monthly books, management accounts, annual financial statements and cash-flow forecasts.
Read more →Get a free, no-obligation quote today. The fastest way to reach us is WhatsApp.
Send us a WhatsApp with your proposed name and we'll take it from there.