Start a business
From idea to trading, in South Africa
Eight steps, in the order they are done. Each one links the guide that explains it, a tool where one helps, and the businesses on the directory that will do it for you.
- 1
Test the idea and plan
Who buys it, what it costs to make, what you must charge. A plan is also the first thing any funder asks for.
Get helpBusiness Plans 15 - 2
Register the company with CIPC
A private company (Pty) Ltd gets a registration number, and with it the obligation to file an annual return every year.
Get helpCompany Secretarial Services 12 - 3
Register for tax
A new company is registered for income tax automatically. VAT registration is compulsory once taxable turnover passes R2.3 million in 12 months (from 1 April 2026), and voluntary earlier.
ReadSARS and tax - 4
Open a business bank account and keep books
Keep the business's money apart from your own from the first rand — SARS, funders and buyers will all ask.
- 5
Licences, permits and premises
Some trades need a licence before they open — food, liquor, transport, health — and a lease is a contract worth reading twice.
Get helpLegal Services 12 - 6
Hire, and register as an employer
Your first employee brings PAYE, UIF and SDL with SARS, and COIDA with the Department of Employment and Labour.
Get helpPayroll Services 21 - 7
Find funding, if you need it
Grants, loans and equity from public and private funders — and what each one wants to see.
Get helpBusiness Loans 5 - 8
Get found
List the business so people searching for what you do can find you — with your services, your area and, in time, your reviews.
Ask in plain words. The question goes to businesses that do that work, and the answer stays public for the next person.
Ask the pros