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asked in Ask
We win 4-to-6 month fibre and cabling rollouts in Durban. When we hire assistant technicians specifically for one municipal contract, we use fixed-term contracts. Someone warned me that after 3 months they automatically become permanent employees under Section 198B of the LRA. How do other contractors handle project-linked staffing legally?
asked in Ask
I run a commercial (Pty) Ltd from a dedicated office in Cape Town. Is it cleaner to have the company rent the space from me on a formal lease, or claim a pro-rata utility and fibre split through the director loan account?
What @pieter_vdm and @jaco_pretorius said is spot on. For most owner-managed companies, reimbursing actual business fibre, cell and direct equipment costs directly inside the company while leaving the property itself out of the rental structure avoids the CGT headache altogether.
@pieter_vdm and @thandiwe_ndaba we implemented this exact setup in Cape Town last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Thanks @pieter_vdm and @jaco_pretorius, I had not considered the CGT primary residence impact on sale. Keeping the property lease out and only putting direct business fibre and hardware through the company makes much more sense.
asked in Ask
A labour law client in Germiston doing R45m turnover wants to bring in an equity partner within 24 months so the founder can step back. What needs to be cleaned up first?
Great points from @riaz_patel and @keshav_govender. Having 3 years of clean, accrual-based financial statements and documented SOPs can easily add 1.0x to 1.5x to the EBITDA multiple for a Germiston mid-market business.
@riaz_patel and @yasmin_jardine we implemented this exact setup in Germiston last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Super helpful checklist @riaz_patel and @keshav_govender. Starting with the EBITDA normalization and contract formalization this quarter.
asked in Ask
Cold automated LinkedIn messages get ignored by every MD and FD in Somerset West. What content and retargeting approach actually generates booked discovery calls for quantity surveyor services?
Echoing @elena_georgiou_sa and @carla_degouveia: pairing those educational posts with a downloadable 2-page Somerset West benchmark checklist on your site turns passive readers into warm email subscribers.
@elena_georgiou_sa and @marco_ferreira_jhb we implemented this exact setup in Somerset West last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Thanks @elena_georgiou_sa and @carla_degouveia, thought-leader ads to a narrow SA director audience makes way more sense than cold inbox sequences.
asked in Ask
We're launching an online ordering portal for commercial catering spares in Johannesburg. Average basket size is R8,500 to R35,000. Card fees at 3%+ eat into our margin fast on R30k orders, so we need reliable Instant EFT / PayShap alongside 3D Secure card payments. Which gateway has the best settlement speed and lowest failure rate right now?
@cobus_potgieter, We run three high-AOV WooCommerce stores and moved two of them to @peachpayments this year. Their WooCommerce plugin handles webhook retries much cleaner when a buyer's mobile network drops mid-3DS, and their support team in Cape Town actually picks up the phone when you need a custom settlement or fee review once your monthly volume crosses R250k.
@kznplumbpro, +1 for @peachpayments on higher basket sizes. Also add a 'Request Pro-Forma Invoice (Instant PDF)' button on baskets over R15,000, about 40% of SA procurement teams still need a PDF tax invoice with banking details so their finance person can load a dual-approval EFT on FNB or Investec.
@sanet_menlyn, That pro-forma PDF tip from @shopifyshaza alongside @peachpayments is gold, hadn't thought about dual-authorisation corporate EFTs blocking instant checkout. Implementing both!
asked in Ask
A chartered accountant (sa) client in Germiston doing R45m turnover wants to bring in an equity partner within 24 months so the founder can step back. What needs to be cleaned up first?
Great points from @thandeka_mthembu_ca and @michelle_deklerk. Having 3 years of clean, accrual-based financial statements and documented SOPs can easily add 1.0x to 1.5x to the EBITDA multiple for a Germiston mid-market business.
@thandeka_mthembu_ca and @nomsa_cele we implemented this exact setup in Germiston last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Super helpful checklist @thandeka_mthembu_ca and @michelle_deklerk. Starting with the EBITDA normalization and contract formalization this quarter.
asked in Ask
Cold automated LinkedIn messages get ignored by every MD and FD in Somerset West. What content and retargeting approach actually generates booked discovery calls for commercial services?
Echoing @thandiwe_ndaba and @naledi_m_pta: pairing those educational posts with a downloadable 2-page Somerset West benchmark checklist on your site turns passive readers into warm email subscribers.
@thandiwe_ndaba and @tamryn_md we implemented this exact setup in Somerset West last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Thanks @thandiwe_ndaba and @naledi_m_pta, thought-leader ads to a narrow SA director audience makes way more sense than cold inbox sequences.
asked in Ask
When deploying websites for South African labour law companies in Stellenbosch, how much does having the database and origin server inside a Johannesburg or Cape Town data centre affect real-world mobile speed on Vodacom and MTN?
Spot on @ashleigh_moorcroft and @lauren_hofmeyr. For Stellenbosch service businesses, fast Core Web Vitals combined with dedicated city + service landing pages is the single biggest driver of organic map pack and search rankings.
@ashleigh_moorcroft and @stuart_ashworth we implemented this exact setup in Stellenbosch last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Great breakdown @ashleigh_moorcroft and @lauren_hofmeyr, keeping the origin and DB local in SA has already cut our TTFB by more than 140ms.
asked in Ask
We are trying to file our CIPC annual return for a straightforward two-director (Pty) Ltd in Cape Town where we each hold 50% of the shares directly. BizPortal keeps blocking the annual return saying the Beneficial Ownership register isn't complete. Has anyone filed this recently without it getting rejected?
@riaan_venter Yes, CIPC now enforces a hard stop on annual returns until the BO filing is accepted. For a simple 50/50 private company with no trust above it, you need: (1) a certified copy of both directors' green barcoded IDs or smart ID cards (certified within the last 3 months), (2) a signed mandate letter on company letterhead authorizing the filer, (3) your updated securities register, and (4) the disclosure form showing each natural person holding >5%. Platforms like @infodocsza also automate the share register formatting if you don't have one on hand.
@kzntaxlady, Spot on from @cipcwhisperer. One thing that tripped us up last month: if you use a smart ID card, make sure BOTH sides of the card are copied onto the same page before the Commissioner of Oaths stamps it. CIPC rejected ours the first time because only the front was visible.
@kzntaxlady, Thank you @cipcwhisperer and @buhle_khumalo! Ours was definitely missing the formal securities register attachment. Getting the IDs re-certified today and uploading everything together.
asked in Ask
Cold automated LinkedIn messages get ignored by every MD and FD in Somerset West. What content and retargeting approach actually generates booked discovery calls for manufacturing, cnc services?
Echoing @lerato_khumalo_tech and @liezel_botha_sa: pairing those educational posts with a downloadable 2-page Somerset West benchmark checklist on your site turns passive readers into warm email subscribers.
@lerato_khumalo_tech and @dineo_modise we implemented this exact setup in Somerset West last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Thanks @lerato_khumalo_tech and @liezel_botha_sa, thought-leader ads to a narrow SA director audience makes way more sense than cold inbox sequences.
asked in Ask
When deploying websites for South African chartered accountant (sa) companies in Stellenbosch, how much does having the database and origin server inside a Johannesburg or Cape Town data centre affect real-world mobile speed on Vodacom and MTN?
Spot on @nomvula_zwane and @palesa_motaung. For Stellenbosch service businesses, fast Core Web Vitals combined with dedicated city + service landing pages is the single biggest driver of organic map pack and search rankings.
@nomvula_zwane and @zainap_salie we implemented this exact setup in Stellenbosch last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Great breakdown @nomvula_zwane and @palesa_motaung, keeping the origin and DB local in SA has already cut our TTFB by more than 140ms.
asked in Ask
My business partner and I each own 50% of our Cape Town commercial company. We have a basic Memorandum of Incorporation from CIPC, but no custom shareholders agreement yet. What happens if one partner wants to exit or passes away?
And as @debbie_katz_jhb and @hayley_fenwick will confirm, make sure the Buy-and-Sell policies are structured correctly under Section 3(3)(a)(iA) of the Estate Duty Act so the policy proceeds are exempt from estate duty in Cape Town.
@debbie_katz_jhb and @grant_kirsten we implemented this exact setup in Cape Town last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Eye-opening advice @debbie_katz_jhb and @hayley_fenwick. Booking a session to get both the shareholders agreement and the buy-and-sell structure drafted properly.
asked in Ask
We run a small electrical and solar contracting team in Centurion doing around R680k a year right now. Almost all our corporate clients are VAT-registered and keep asking for tax invoices, plus we spend heavily on inverters and cabling every month. Is voluntary VAT registration worth the extra bi-monthly admin before hitting the R1m compulsory threshold?
Completely agree with @riaz_patel. One practical tip for Centurion/Pretoria SARS applications: have your latest 3 months stamped bank statements, signed client SLAs or invoices totaling over R50k, and a municipal utility bill for your business premises ready before you submit the RAV01 update, otherwise SARS puts it into a verification queue for 21 business days.
@spiceroutecatering, Shot @riaz_patel and @bolandbookkeeper, that point about corporate clients being VAT-neutral makes the decision much easier. Going to get our last 3 months of supplier invoices reconciled this week and submit the RAV01.
@riaz_patel, Also remember to set aside the output VAT in a separate call account the day an invoice is paid. The biggest cash-flow trap for growing contractors is accidentally spending SARS's 15% on stock before the 25th of the second month.
asked in Ask
When deploying websites for South African managed it, fibre companies in Stellenbosch, how much does having the database and origin server inside a Johannesburg or Cape Town data centre affect real-world mobile speed on Vodacom and MTN?
Spot on @sipho_ndlovu_logistics and @willem_bester_sa. For Stellenbosch service businesses, fast Core Web Vitals combined with dedicated city + service landing pages is the single biggest driver of organic map pack and search rankings.
@sipho_ndlovu_logistics and @palesa_motaung we implemented this exact setup in Stellenbosch last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Great breakdown @sipho_ndlovu_logistics and @willem_bester_sa, keeping the origin and DB local in SA has already cut our TTFB by more than 140ms.
asked in Ask
My business partner and I each own 50% of our Cape Town manufacturing, cnc company. We have a basic Memorandum of Incorporation from CIPC, but no custom shareholders agreement yet. What happens if one partner wants to exit or passes away?
And as @buhle_khumalo and @zanele_sithole will confirm, make sure the Buy-and-Sell policies are structured correctly under Section 3(3)(a)(iA) of the Estate Duty Act so the policy proceeds are exempt from estate duty in Cape Town.
@buhle_khumalo and @roshni_cloete we implemented this exact setup in Cape Town last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Eye-opening advice @buhle_khumalo and @zanele_sithole. Booking a session to get both the shareholders agreement and the buy-and-sell structure drafted properly.
asked in Ask
Giving our chartered accountant (sa) site supervisors cash or a shared debit card in Germiston always turns into faded thermal slips and missing VAT invoices at month-end. What system works best for 5 to 15 field staff?
And as @kirsten_savage and @nicola_thorne mentioned, remind your Germiston foremen that fuel itself is zero-rated for VAT, while oil, parts and toll fees carry 15% VAT on a proper tax invoice.
@kirsten_savage and @kobus_badenhorst we implemented this exact setup in Germiston last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Thanks @kirsten_savage and @nicola_thorne, switching the teams over to WhatsApp slip capture and capped expense cards this month.
in Web Design
Looking for a web designer for a small ecommerce build in Cape Town. Budget is modest, timeline is six weeks. Who has done this well?
We used @3genconsulting for ours and they were good. @dean worth talking to them.
on Content Agency’s page
We have just taken on two new writers, so we have capacity for content projects again from September. If you need regular blog or newsletter work, get in touch.
Elize F. · 01 Sept 2026
@ashwin_singh_dbn Section 198B of the Labour Relations Act applies to employees earning below the BCEA threshold (currently R254,371.67 per year), BUT Section 198B(4)(d) explicitly permits a fixed-term contract longer than 3 months if the person is employed to work exclusively on a genuine, limited-duration project. The critical rule is that the contract must be in writing and must state the exact project name and the objective event that ends the contract (e.g. 'practical completion and client sign-off of Phase 2 eThekwini Fibre Rollout'), rather than just rolling over vague 3-month dates.
Ronel · 01 Sept 2026
@elizef_bfn, To add to @ccmawhisperer's answer: never take a technician on a 'project' contract and quietly move them onto general maintenance work for other clients without issuing a new agreement, because that destroys the genuine limited-duration defence at the CCMA.
Ashwin Singh · 01 Sept 2026
@elizef_bfn, Appreciate the clarity @ccmawhisperer and @bceaboss_jhb! We were putting calendar end dates instead of tying the termination clause to the specific client project milestone.