How to register a company in South Africa: a step-by-step guide
Step 1: Reserve your company name · Step 2: Register as a CIPC customer
5 min read 24 Aug 2026
Guides
Practical guides for South African business
44 step-by-step guides on registration, compliance, funding, investing and the businesses South Africans actually start. Find yours below.
Key business compliance requirements every South African small business needs
Business registration and structure · Tax compliance
5 min read 24 Aug 2026
Nail your BEE scorecard: a 10-step guide to B-BBEE compliance
Step 1: Understand the scorecard · Step 2: Identify where you are affected
5 min read 16 Sep 2026
Beginner’s guide to tax filing in South Africa
Why the uncertainty is the actual problem · Who actually needs to file
5 min read 16 Sep 2026
How to protect your intellectual property in South Africa
Why this gets ignored, and why that is a mistake · Copyright
4 min read 24 Aug 2026
What to do when your business has a data breach: the POPIA response plan every small business needs
You already have an Information Officer, whether you registered one or not · What POPIA actually requires when a breach happens
5 min read 21 Sep 2026
The VAT threshold has more than doubled to R2.3 million: what that means for your small business
What actually changed, in numbers · Why Treasury moved the number
4 min read 25 Sep 2026
The minimum wage is now R30.23 an hour: what every small business employer must get right
The new rates · What this actually costs a small employer
4 min read 25 Sep 2026
CIPC annual returns and beneficial ownership filing in South Africa: deadlines, fees, penalties and how to file
Company annual return fees by turnover · Affected and non-affected companies
10 min read 7 Oct 2026
A guide to government funding for small businesses in South Africa
The three broad categories of government support · The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
5 min read 16 Sep 2026
Government tenders for small businesses in South Africa
Where tenders are actually advertised · What a compliant submission actually needs
4 min read 16 Sep 2026
The NYDA Grant Programme: how young South Africans get up to R250,000 to start or grow a business
What the grant actually is · Who qualifies
4 min read 29 Sep 2026
The R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund: a practical guide for township and rural shop owners
What the fund is and who runs it · How much money is on the table
3 min read 17 Sep 2026
NEF funding explained: 10 ways to get R250,000 to R75 million for a black-owned business
What the NEF is and who it is for · The ten funding products
4 min read 17 Sep 2026
South Africa business visa: how the dtic recommendation works and what to submit
R5 million, and how it may be held · Reducing or waiving the R5 million
12 min read 30 Sep 2026
South Africa visas for investors, entrepreneurs and remote workers: the routes compared
Permanent residence routes for business people · Does South Africa have a digital nomad visa?
12 min read 29 Sep 2026
dtic investment incentives in South Africa: what each pays, who qualifies, how to apply
Section 12I: closed to new projects · Section 12V: electric and hydrogen vehicles
12 min read 30 Sep 2026
Exchange control in South Africa: foreign investment in, offshore allowances out
Why inward records decide whether money can leave later · Loans from foreign shareholders and lenders
12 min read 29 Sep 2026
Where South African business owners can invest surplus cash: options and today’s rates
Call accounts, notice accounts and money market funds · Fixed deposits
12 min read 29 Sep 2026
Tax-advantaged investing in South Africa: TFSAs, RAs, section 12J and investment tax
Individuals only: your company cannot open one · What a business owner should know
12 min read 29 Sep 2026
Investing in South African agro-processing: incentives, finance, export rules and risks
APSS in practice · Tax and zones
10 min read 30 Sep 2026
Investing in South African renewable energy: programmes, private power, tax and risks
Do I need a licence to build a solar or wind plant in South Africa? · Is the 125% renewable energy tax deduction still available?
9 min read 30 Sep 2026
Investing in South African automotive components: incentives, trade access, EVs and risks
Section 12V does not help component makers · The policy position on electric vehicles
11 min read 30 Sep 2026
Investing in South African business process outsourcing: the GBS incentive, talent, costs and risks
Who qualifies · Current status: rationing
11 min read 30 Sep 2026
How to start a trucking business in South Africa
Start with a real business plan · How trucking businesses actually make money
3 min read 16 Sep 2026
How to start a cleaning business in South Africa
What you actually need to get started · Deciding what your business actually is
3 min read 16 Sep 2026
How to start a construction business in South Africa
Step 1: Find your gap in the market · Step 2: Do proper market research
3 min read 16 Sep 2026
How to export your products or services from South Africa
Step 1: Do real market research · Step 2: Choose your export markets deliberately
4 min read 24 Aug 2026
How to label a sponsored post in South Africa: the ARB rules every influencer should know
3 min read 29 Sep 2026
How to improve your credit score in South Africa
What a credit score actually measures · Your score depends on which bureau is asked
5 min read 16 Sep 2026
AI tools for your small business: a practical guide for South African owners
What AI is genuinely good at, at small business scale · What it is not good for, and why the mistake is expensive when it happens
7 min read 17 Sep 2026
Business insurance for South African SMEs: what it actually costs, what it covers, and why most go without it
The gap, and why it exists · What business insurance in South Africa actually costs
5 min read 29 Sep 2026
Ransomware attacks on South African businesses are up 140%: what small businesses need to do now
What an attack actually costs · How attackers actually get in
4 min read 25 Sep 2026
WordPress.com vs self-hosted WordPress: why so many small businesses overpay for a website
Is WordPress.com the same company as the WordPress software? · Can I move a WordPress.com site to self-hosted WordPress later?
5 min read 4 Oct 2026
Establishing a business in South Africa: what it takes to outlast the founder
1. Ownership records that are accurate, not just technically filed · 2. A written succession plan, before it is needed
4 min read 2 Oct 2026
Scaling a business in South Africa: closing the country’s missing middle
1. Standardise before you multiply · 2. Build a management layer that makes real decisions
5 min read 2 Oct 2026
Growing a business in South Africa: why survival and growth are not the same thing
1. Match the funding source to the stage you are actually at · 2. Fix your credit profile before you need the capital, not after
4 min read 2 Oct 2026
Managing a business in South Africa: the three systems that replace the owner’s memory
1. A cash flow forecast, not just a bank balance · 2. A real hiring process, before you need to use it urgently
4 min read 2 Oct 2026
Running a business in South Africa: the compliance calendar that keeps you registered
Annual, from CIPC · Monthly or periodic, from SARS
4 min read 2 Oct 2026
Starting a business in South Africa: why registering is not the same as opening
1. Register with SARS before you take your first payment · 2. Open a business bank account in the company's name
5 min read 2 Oct 2026
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