Do You Need a Business Licence?
Most South African businesses do not need a licence. The categories that do, and why the answer depends on your municipality.
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Quoting, invoicing, VAT and getting paid, for people running the business rather than the accountants advising them. Anything we publish about SARS or the VAT Act is checked against the source and carries the date it was verified.
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B-BBEE Affidavits for Small Businesses
Small businesses below the turnover threshold can use a sworn affidavit instead of a verification certificate. What it is and when clients ask for it.
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Choosing and Protecting a Business Name
A CIPC name reservation is not a trademark. What each one protects, and how to avoid choosing a name you cannot keep.
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How to Take Payments From Clients
EFT, card, payment links and cash. What each costs, how fast the money clears, and which suits which kind of client.
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What a Professional Quotation Looks Like
A worked South African quotation, with the scope wording and exclusions that stop an argument at invoicing.
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Invoice Wording: Describing Work Clearly
Vague line items are the most common cause of a queried invoice. How to describe work so a stranger in finance can approve it.
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Registering for Tax as a New Business
What a new South African business has to register for with SARS, what happens automatically, and what only applies once you cross a threshold.
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Tax Invoice, Receipt or Proof of Payment?
Three documents that get confused constantly. Only one of them supports an input VAT claim.
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Letter of Demand: When It Is Time
What a letter of demand is, when to send one, and what it should contain. The point at which polite follow-up has run its course.
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