The word ‘admin’ has a bad rep, but it is a requirement for all new businesses and entrepreneurs. You are not alone in finding it frustrating, and that’s because entrepreneurs would much rather be focusing on marketing strategies, market research, and risk analysis than signing numerous bank forms and standing in line at SARS. Admin is mostly viewed as a pesky distraction. However, just like Business insurance is an immediate necessity. The primary admin requirements are standard across most businesses – you need to name and register your company, sign an agreement (MOU), open a business bank account, register with SARS and investigate Business insurance.
When admin is broken down into bite-size chunks, it’s less overwhelming. Utilising a Task Tracker App will bring clarity to the process and ensure that you don’t miss an important step. Initially, you need to add the following to your admin to-do list:
- company registration
- bank account
- Memorandum of Understanding
- SARS and
- Business insurance (which will include Liability insurance, Business vehicle insurance, Professional liability insurance, and Buildings insurance)
A company registration certificate and proof of bank account, for example, will be requested when signing supplier agreements or committing to office rental – you don’t want admin to hold up your business’s progress.
So, let’s jump right in and get into the details of the must-know admin for opening a new business:
- Download a Tracker App
If you want to make your admin and task management efficient and more comfortable, then take a look at the best Task Tracker Apps for 2019 according to CloudApp. Alternatively, go to your App Store and search for ‘Task Tracker for business’ – there are numerous options which you can explore and see what works best for your organisational style. With so many to choose from, we have picked out 3 simple, easy-to-use options for you to consider:
You’ll be able to review and manage upcoming tasks, and it syncs across all your devices. Read this interesting review.
For personal or business ‘tick-off’ use, the App will enable you to keep on top of multiple work projects.
Read this interesting review.
Evernote allows you to keep track of deadlines and to manage large or small projects.
- Register your new company
Conceptualising a name for your company is easy. Finding available names is somewhat harder! You and your business partner need to be creative and come up with several options, as many of your seemingly ‘unique’ names may already be in use. However, it needn’t hold up your registration process; under the New Companies Act name reservation is no longer mandatory before registering a company. Should one of your proposed names be declined, the company can still be registered. The registration number then becomes the name of the company until your unique name has been decided and reserved.
Before registering with the CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission), you need to consider the structure of your company. The preferred choice of a legal entity is a (Pty) Ltd as it separates your assets and risks from your business ones. It’s also considered more professional to trade in a (Pty) Ltd capacity rather than in your name – the majority of suppliers will only deal with registered companies.
On the CIPC website, you will find this step-by-step guide to registering your new company. Remember to source the following required supporting documents to avoid a frustrating to-ing and fro-ing:
– Certified Identification Document of the applicant
– Certified copies of the Identity Documents of the Directors and Incorporators
– The name confirmation certificate (COR9.4)
– For trust or company as an incorporator, the resolution and certified Identification Document copy of the duly authorised representative must be attached
- Sign a Memorandum of Understanding
A Memorandum of Understanding (also known as a Letter of Intent or a Memorandum of Agreement) is a formal agreement used to create a partnership between two or more parties. Despite not being legally binding, they do have a tone of mutual and professional respect. It’s a less expensive and quicker way to mutually agree on terms and conditions before an official legal contract is drawn up.
Memorandum of Understanding templates often suffices in the initial business setup stages. Generally, the memorandum will cover the likes of equity, the relationship between the parties, the obligations of the parties, intellectual property rights, and termination.
- Open a business bank account
Showing certified proof of your business bank account will be required by SARS, as well as your potential business suppliers.
Most major banking institutions have business banking divisions. Meet with two or three to establish which one is best for your business’s requirements. Ensure you take along all the required documents, to avoid the frustration of repeated return visits.
- South African Revenue Service (SARS)
They need no introduction, and if you don’t find them, they’ll find you! You are required to register your new business with SARS 60 days after you have started your business.
Be sure to contact SARS before you head to your nearest branch, to confirm which documentation you need to take along. However, in short, you usually require the following:
- An original, stamped letter from the bank confirming the bank details of your new company
- Your company’s registration certificate as well as certified Identification
- Documents of all members and directors
Download our Admin Checklist here.
- Business insurance
Lack of Business insurance can unravel a business in its infancy overnight. From the outset it is prudent to establish what type of Business insurance your new company will require, which may include:
Even home-based businesses need Liability insurance. It protects against damages in the event your employees, products or services cause bodily or property damage to a third party.
If you own the building from where you run your business, it should be insured against fire, flood and other unforeseen disasters.
This provides cover for vehicles that transport employees, products or equipment.
Professional liability insurance
This Business insurance comes into place when professional services are improperly rendered.
So, make peace with the fact that you need to set aside the required time to tick-off the points on this must-do admin list. Take comfort in knowing that every new business (regardless of how big or small) is in the same boat when starting out. Use your time efficiently by contacting a reputable business insurer like Hollard, Affinity or Capitec, who will get your Business insurance agreement going while you’re ticking off the other admin. It’s also handy to begin a file for all your company documents – you’ll be referencing them regularly in the early set-up days. It might sound old school – but you will require hard copies of the documentation as me
