How does one start a business?

Chris14 said:
I think if possible speak to an Accountant (a qualified CA), as she/he should have some advice to give you as well.
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Engage a small accounting firm who will charge you a fee to setup the company, worry about SARS etc. It will then allow you to focus on runing the business.
 
Ike_009 said:
Its not just the last 12 months but any 12 months, same with the 50k figure
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It's "any consecutive twelve month period", and since you must register as soon as you become liable, that would be "the last 12 months" :confused:

But as @Chris14 & @Fivel said, find a decent accountant who will help you along the way. Most can do your company registration and the other applications needed along the way (tax number, etc.). The good ones aren't cheap, but it'll save you many headaches when it comes to doing your returns and dealing "the right way" with SARS.
 
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Chris14 said:
I think if possible speak to an Accountant (a qualified CA), as she/he should have some advice to give you as well.
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That could be a little bit expensive & probably overkill for a simple one man shop programming operation (assuming thats the case).

Denouncer said:
It's "any consecutive twelve month period", and since you must register as soon as you become liable, that would be "the last 12 months" :confused:
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Its phrased like that because it also covers projected numbers. i.e. You're supposed to register as soon as you think it'll hit the threshold.

R4C3 said:
1) Do want want a Sole proprietor or a Pty(ltd) cc do not exists anymore - These companies you buy of the shelf.
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Please don't. It'll kill you image and make expansion difficult. Plus its inherently more risky.
 
Denouncer said:
It's "any consecutive twelve month period", and since you must register as soon as you become liable, that would be "the last 12 months" :confused:
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Par 23 of the Vat act section 1 subsection
a) at the end of any month where the total value if taxable supplies made by that person in the period of 12 months ending exceed R1 million

b) at the commencement of any month where there are reasonable grounds for believing the total value of taxable supplies to be made by that person in the period of 12 months from the commencement of the said month will exceed the above mentioned amount.


I.E you have to look back every month for history but also have to look forward every month at a 12 month consecutive period. Thus if you've been trading for 6 months and you have made supplies of R600 000 then odds are you will meet the R1 million limit and thus should register. Par 23 goes on to exclude non repetitive supplies and temporary differences etc
 
True, my second post wasn't correctly phrased. I wasn't specifically talking about projections in my first post though, as my initial answer was to the threshold amount, and the "last 12 months" was referring to the 50k figure - from my understanding, you can't use projections for voluntary registration, and so the "any 12 months" isn't correct for that. It is "last 12 months".
 
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But if you can justify meeting R50k then Sars won't say no, its just not worth it below R50k but you can still look into budgets for registration
 
R4C3 said:
Ye no min but if your turn over is more than a certain amount you have to reg
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Its just we are finding ourselves in the same process trying to get a VAT number in order to get in with the suppliers, problem is we have to then charge VAT so our prices have to go up 14% or we get a 14% less margin :(
 
simon said:
Its just we are finding ourselves in the same process trying to get a VAT number in order to get in with the suppliers, problem is we have to then charge VAT so our prices have to go up 14% or we get a 14% less margin :(
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But if your clients are also VAT vendors then they won't pay any more, they claim the VAT back
 
It is best to register for VAT irrespective of turnover as your clients would prefer you to be registered. But SARS has made it more difficult than it used to be. They call it voluntary registration but you need a turnover of at least R50,000/month. If you have a reliable accountant they can sort that out for you. SARS will also need invoices. But first you have to register your business before you can register for VAT and then you have to have been trading for at least 6 months if I recall. I will check on this tomorrow at get back to you on the SARS / VAT issue.
 
GentlestSum522 said:
It is best to register for VAT irrespective of turnover as your clients would prefer you to be registered. But SARS has made it more difficult than it used to be. They call it voluntary registration but you need a turnover of at least R50,000/month. If you have a reliable accountant they can sort that out for you. SARS will also need invoices. But first you have to register your business before you can register for VAT and then you have to have been trading for at least 6 months if I recall. I will check on this tomorrow at get back to you on the SARS / VAT issue.
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Its R50 000 a year, Section 23, par 3
 
simon said:
Its just we are finding ourselves in the same process trying to get a VAT number in order to get in with the suppliers, problem is we have to then charge VAT so our prices have to go up 14% or we get a 14% less margin :(
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If you are a services company, then especially when selling to corporates, they won't mind the 14% increase as they claim it back. If you are selling things like computers, your price should stay the same for sales because you can reclaim the VAT paid when purchasing from your suppliers. Only your service fees will increase. The only complaints you should get is from existing clients if you're providing services to the public since they will notice the price difference and they can't reclaim the vat.
 
ViperGTI said:
If you are a services company, then especially when selling to corporates, they won't mind the 14% increase as they claim it back. If you are selling things like computers, your price should stay the same for sales because you can reclaim the VAT paid when purchasing from your suppliers. Only your service fees will increase. The only complaints you should get is from existing clients if you're providing services to the public since they will notice the price difference and they can't reclaim the vat.
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Problem is we are both, we are an internet cafe and a printing house. So we do everything from selling of computers to large scale print jobs to services such as web design and consultations.
Our internet cafe pricing is due for a price change anyway in a couple months time so probably just going to put prices up by R0.50 or so.
 
Hi Guys

Sorry I have been off sick the past few days,had Acute Sinusitis,still recovering.

You all have a lot of input to give which I appreciate.
A friend referred me to a place called http://www.swiftreg.co.za

They handle all the necessities in starting up a business and they can have your business registered in 3 weeks.
I'm still doing research and am currently working on the business plan.
 
KofDelight said:
Hi Guys

Sorry I have been off sick the past few days,had Acute Sinusitis,still recovering.

You all have a lot of input to give which I appreciate.
A friend referred me to a place called http://www.swiftreg.co.za

They handle all the necessities in starting up a business and they can have your business registered in 3 weeks.
I'm still doing research and am currently working on the business plan.
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If I could, I would have repped you, as the business plan is probably the most important part of starting a business. Registering your business and VAT and and and you can outsource to an accountant, but they are not going to plan your streams of income. Good luck I know this is a hell of a job.
 
DieGrootH@mmer said:
If I could, I would have repped you, as the business plan is probably the most important part of starting a business. Registering your business and VAT and and and you can outsource to an accountant, but they are not going to plan your streams of income. Good luck I know this is a hell of a job.
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What do you mean by "repped"?
 
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