In terms of the Companies Act, 2008, a company may be registered with or without a company name. When a company is registered without a reserved name, its registration number automatically becomes the company name. This is the quickest way to register a company.

Such a company may transact with a trading (business) name, or may apply to add a reserved name at a later stage. In this case, the company will need to first reserve a name and then apply for a name change, which constitutes a change to its Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI).

There are five types of companies that you can register. If you wish to run a franchise business, you would register a private company. If you wish to register a church, you would register a non-profit company. A private school could be registered as a private company or non-profit company, depending on its objectives. An association of professionals such as lawyers, doctors, civil engineers etc, may be registered as a personal liability company.

The most important document governing a company is the Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI). The MOI sets out the rules governing the conduct of the company, as specified by its owners. The Companies Act imposes certain specific requirements on the content of a Memorandum of Incorporation, as necessary to protect the interests of shareholders in the company, and provides for a number of default company rules / alterable provisions, which companies may accept or alter as they wish as long as it is in line with the Companies Act.

Memorandum of Incorporation contains the following information:

• Detail of Incorporators

• Number of directors and alternate directors

• Share capital (maximum issued)

• Content of MOI

Compulsory registration: Any person who carries on an enterprise and whose total value of taxable supplies (taxable turnover) exceeds, or is likely to exceed, the compulsory VAT registration threshold, must register for VAT. The threshold is currently R1 million in any consecutive 12-month period.

Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica)

South Africa has adopted money laundering laws to help it comply with its international obligations to fight organised crime and terrorism.

Fica creates money laundering control obligations for banks and other institutions and professionals, such as estate agents, brokers, attorneys and insurance companies.

If you have employees who are employed by you for more than 24 hours per month, you are required by law to register with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and contribute towards the Fund. You must deduct and contribute one percent of your worker's gross salary per month, as must your employee. The total contribution is two percent of the worker's gross remuneration.

All registered employers pay an annual assessment fee based on their workers’ earnings and work related risks. Employers who register for and pay their annual Workers Compensation fees are protected from being sued by employees who are injured at work. Employees are protected from financial loss if they are injured at work.

Employers must pay 1% of their workers’ pay to the skills development levy every month. The money goes to Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and the Skills Development Fund to pay for training.