How do you register a company in South Africa online?

You register a private company online through BizPortal (bizportal.gov.za), the South African government's business registration site run with CIPC. If you have a South African ID, it costs R175 including your company name, and a clean application usually comes back within one to three working days.

What do you need before you start?

Have these ready and the application takes about half an hour:

·        your South African ID number (you'll use it to create your BizPortal account)

·        full names, ID numbers, email addresses and cellphone numbers for every director, exactly as they appear on their IDs

·        the company's physical address

·        up to four company names you'd be happy with, in order of preference

·        a bank card to pay the R175

If any directors aren't South African citizens and don't have SA ID numbers, BizPortal won't work for them. You'll need to use CIPC's own eServices instead.

What are the steps on BizPortal?

1.      Go to bizportal.gov.za and register with your SA ID number.

2.      Choose company registration, then private company.

3.      Enter up to four proposed names, best first. CIPC approves the first one that's available.

4.      Add each director's details, exactly as they are on their ID.

5.      Add the company's physical address and choose your financial year-end.

6.      Choose any optional extras on offer, like opening a business bank account.

7.      Pay the R175 by card.

8.      Wait for the confirmation email with your documents.

How much does it cost to register a company?

On BizPortal it's R125 to register a company without a name (you get a registration number as the name) and R175 with a name, which is R50 for the name reservation plus R125 for the registration.

If you reserve a name separately first, the name reservation is R50 online. An approved name is valid for six months, and you can extend it for R30. If all four of your names are rejected, you'll pay the R50 again to try new ones.

How long does it take?

A clean application usually comes back in one to three working days. If a name is rejected or a director's ID can't be verified, it can take two to three weeks while you sort it out.

What do you get when it's done?

·        your registration certificate (the CoR 14.3)

·        a standard Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI)

·        an income tax number, issued automatically by SARS

What doesn't the R175 cover?

This is the part most guides skip. A newly registered company still has a few things to do:

·        Beneficial ownership. You have to tell CIPC who actually owns and controls the company. CIPC won't accept your annual returns until this is filed, so do it straight away.

·        A SARS registered representative. Someone has to be appointed as the company's representative with SARS before you can use eFiling for it or get a tax clearance.

·        Annual returns. Every year, within 30 business days after the anniversary of your registration date, from R100 depending on turnover. If you don't file, CIPC can deregister the company.

·        A share register and share certificates. The law requires them, and banks often ask for them when you open a business account.

Do you actually need to register a company?

Not always. You can trade as a sole proprietor without registering anything with CIPC. You just declare the income on your own tax return.

A company makes more sense when you want the business to be separate from you personally, when you're going into business with partners, or when the clients you want, like bigger companies and government departments, will only work with a registered company.

Want someone to handle it for you?

Registering is quick. Keeping up with everything afterwards is the part that slips. Our support team handles company registrations, beneficial ownership filings and annual returns, once-off or as part of a monthly retainer, and keeps track of every due date for the businesses we look after, so none of it lands on your to-do list.

If you're spending more time on admin than on the business itself, you're not alone. Here's why so many South African founders get stuck doing it all.

Get in touch and tell us where you're at.

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