Company Registration at CIPC, SARS, COID, CUSTOMS, CIDB & More
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Then you’ve come to the right page!
In this post, I’ll be showing you how to find the best Tenders opportunities in South Africa, how to get the Tender Documents you need (from Company Registration to the full list of Tender Compliance documents) plus how to successfully apply for the Tenders you’re interested in.
When you run your own business, the scariest part is not having a stable and consistent income.
Winning a Tender, RFQ or a contract can mean that dependable income you need to really solidify your business and its future.
Also, people often have a perception that government Tenders are awarded unfairly, however, the majority of Tenders are awarded justly thanks to all the institutionalized red tape.
The key is having expert guidance in all the administration you need from the company registration to the other Tender Compliance documents.
All the red tape is used to ensure two things. First, that Tenders, RFQ’s and Contracts are awarded fairly to the best applicant and secondly, to weed out a large number of applicants.
No company has the resources to work through hundreds of applicants without ruling some out preemptively on the grounds that their legal paperwork isn’t up to industry standard.
Unfortunately, that means your legal compliance and the standard of your application is just as important as your company’s ability to take on Tenders, RFQ’s or Contracts.
In fact, studies have shown that South Africans are often great entrepreneurs, but lack the Business Tender Assistance needed to grow their businesses. You can read all about it, right here >
However, you shouldn’t let this discourage you.
There are various resources to assist you. Our Company focusses specifically in assisting entrepreneurs like you with their compliance needs.
Before we get into the details (we get into the details in Section 1, 2 and 3), I’d just like to give you a broad overview of the process of winning Tenders in South Africa:
A valid Company Registration number is more often than not the first non-negotiable prerequisite to a Tender.
This means you have to register your Company at the CIPC or purchase a Shelf Company. You can read more about this in Section 1 described below.
With all the paperwork that needs to be done, it’s easy to see the company compliance documents like Company registration as the most important factor.
However, the most important requirement in applying to a Tender, RFQ or Contract is first and foremost your business’s ability to successfully complete the job at hand within the proposed timeframe and budget.
This means you need the staff, resources and cash flow (although there are financing options) to complete the job as promised. If not, rather keep your eyes peeled for a Tender that does suit your specific business and its resources.
That means you need access to multiple Tender Leads. I discuss how you can get access to enough Tender Leads in Section 2.
Every Tender, RFQ or Contract differs, but generally, there are a few compliance documents that are always required. The first document you need is a company registration document. These compliance documents are discussed more in detail in Section 3.
An incomplete application will be the first thing to make your attempt null and void.
It’s not only important to meet the deadline for the deadline’s sake. It’s also important to allow yourself enough time to get all the compliance documents, from your company registration to your other documents, in order (they can often take months if you don’t use fast-tracked compliance services like ours) and to study other good Tender applications – and competitive pricing – to improve your application.
Business and Tenders aren’t for the faint-hearted. The businesses that succeed are often the businesses that keep on trying until they do.
Make sure you improve your application with every submission and make sure your pricing is fair to you, but also competitive in terms of your competitors.
The whole Tender process is quite extensive, so we’ve broken down the info into 3 sections.
If you’d like a quicker alternative to the three section scroll down to the first infographic. We offer a simplified Tender Maintenance Service that might make things easier for you.
If you rather want to do it yourself and not make use of a paid service, you can use the following sections as a guide to understanding how you can win Tenders in SA. We’ll guide you from Company Registration straight through the more specific company compliance documents.
These 3 sections on Company Registration to Tender Compliance are described in detail below the infographic.
Within 48 hours of identifying and submitting their application for a Department of Human Settlements RFQ, our client Rubik Power won their first RFQ / Tender! “Company Partners was instrumental in introducing me to Tenders.
They helped me understand the process, pitfalls and areas to win. They also helped me to identify those fraudulent RFQs, which could have cost me dearly.” “I found the flexibility refreshing as they taught me and allowed me to canvas for RFQs as I saw fit. Their guidance at the beginning helped me understand areas of opportunity.
Great job & thanks for helping me win my first RFQ.” Rubik Power specializes in e-ink, nanotechnologies and mobile apps and hopes to reinvest the profit from the RFQ in growing their business.
Bilal Jagot, from Rubik Power, explains how within one month of joining Company Partners, Rubik Power won their first RFQ / Tender!
1. Tell us about your business, Rubik Power?
Rubik Power was started by Yoomna Vally to serve customer needs better through innovative products. We have identified e-ink, nanotechnologies and mobile apps as our 3 core areas of expertise.
So far we have introduced the following products to South Africa: Joan Assistant, which is eco-friendly Boardroom signage; VitroArma, which is screen enhancement technology for mobile devices; and BillVisor, an app that assesses and helps with mobile cost savings.
2. How and when did you win your first RFQ?
We won our first RFQ within the first month of joining with Company Partners.
It was an RFQ that we identified. We submitted an application and we got a response within 48 hours that we won the RFQ. It was for the Department of Human Settlements.
3. Did you find Company Partners’s Tender Subscription service helpful?
We used the tender service to search for tender within areas that we have capabilities and relationships.
Company Partners helped us Company Partners helped us understand how Tenders work and gave us access to the Tradeworld’s tool that enabled us to be pro-active and search for Tender opportunities.
They also advised us on the administrative requirements to that point that we developed a slick process for responding to RFQs.
4. Would you recommend our Tender Subscription and do you have any other tips for entrepreneurs?
I will recommend it to other entrepreneurs. Submit as many RFQs as you can, as the market is saturated and there is a less than 5% success rate.
Luckily we’ve dedicated an entire blog post to the subject of registering your own company online.
This post shows you how to register your own brand new company step by step.
You can find that on online Company Registration post here:
Shortcut: Chat to one of our Company Documentation Experts and they’ll walk you through the process of registering your company online…
After you’ve covered your basic compliance needs, like Company Registration, it’s time to find the Tenders you’d like to apply to establish what other documents you need besides the basic company registration number.
Luckily, there are hundreds of RFQ’s, Tenders and Contracts advertised across various sources: from newspapers to bulletins and websites.
You’ll have to keep tabs on the hottest Tender sites and newspapers 24/7. Luckily you can find all the Government’s weekly Tender bulletins right HERE, however, it’s still about 200 long.
Company Partners offers a Tender support services. It’s called the Tender Maintenance Service. Here’s one of the testimonials we’ve received on this service:
It’s important to note that every Tender, RFQ or Contract opportunity has a unique set of requirements. These are simply the documents that are almost always required. Typically you would need the following documents to apply for a Tender Opportunity:
You have to register your company at the CIPC to ensure you have a company registration number needed to apply to most Tenders.
As mentioned, we’ve dedicated an entire page to the online Company Registration in South Africa.
You can find it here:
Company Registration Guide: How to register a new Company in South Africa online
You can learn more about the other alternative, Shelf Companies, in Section 1.
Winning tenders in South Africa requires a combination of proper documentation, understanding the tender process, and presenting a compelling proposal. Company Partners offers comprehensive support, including Tender Compliance Packages, to enhance your chances of success.
To apply for a tender certificate, ensure you have all the required compliance documents, such as Tax Clearance and BEE certificates. Company Partners can assist with these requirements and guide you through the application process for a tender certificate.
Starting a tender business involves registering your company, obtaining necessary compliance documents, and understanding the tendering process. Utilize Company Partners’ services for company registration and tender compliance to streamline this process.
Applying for tenders requires you to follow the specific instructions in the tender documentation. Ensure your business is compliant with all necessary regulations, and consider seeking Company Partners’ expert assistance for a smooth application process.
In short, a Tax Clearance Certificate proves that your company is legally in good standing with SARS in terms of your Tax.
That means you need to be registered for Tax, with a Tax number, before you can receive Tax Clearance proving you Tax submissions are up to date with SARS.
You can take a look at our Tax Clearance special or our Tax Registration Verification special right here!
If you’d like a Clearance Package, here’s one of our all-inclusive options!
VAT Registration at SARS is not mandatory for companies earning less than R1 million a year, which means it won’t necessarily be a requirement to apply for Tenders.
However, it is important to make sure you comply, if your turnover is more than R1 million a year.
If your company’s income exceeds R1 million over 12 months, you HAVE TO register for VAT at SARS. It’s a mandatory legal requirement.
If you earn less than R1 million over 12 months, it’s voluntary.
Firstly, you cannot register for VAT if you don’t have a turnover of R50 000 a year or more. The other option is having invoices that exceed R 4300 per month for two consecutive months.
If you do qualify for mandatory VAT registration, you could register for VAT to claim back the VAT you pay when making purchases.
Let me explain.
You’ve probably paid 14% VAT on all your purchases from companies that are VAT registered (made before the 1st of April 2018). And you’ll probably pay 15% VAT on all purchases after the 1st of April 2018 from your VAT registered suppliers.
If you register your company for VAT you must add 15% VAT (from the 1st of April 2018) to all your products or services. You’ll have to pay that 15% to SARS.
However, that means you can deduct all the VAT you pay from the VAT you owe – and if you pay more than you owe SARS will repay the difference.
You can also deduct VAT paid on capital goods you use for your company, like equipment or vehicles.
If you want to, or have to, register for VAT at SARS, here’s a handy VAT Package that might come in handy!
In order to apply for most Tenders, you need either a BEE Affidavit or a BEE Certificate.
According to the latest legislation, if your company earns less than R10 mil. a year you’re considered an Exempted Micro Enterprise (EME). This means you need a BEE Affidavit.
An Affidavit is a formal letter, stating what your company’s ownership looks like. However, you only have three options: 100% black ownership, more than 50% black ownership or less than 50% black ownership.
Once you have set up your affidavit letter a Commissioner of Oath has to sign it before it officially serves as your legal BEE certificate.
If you earn more than R10 mil. every year, the levels get more complex and you’re legally required to get a formal BEE Certificate.
You can get a BEE Affidavit template HERE or simply talk to one of Company Partners’s BEE experts Toll Free on 0800 007 269 .
In contrary to popular belief, you don’t automatically receive shareholder certificates upon the registration of your company. You simply state how many shares you’d like to be available. It’s your company’s responsibility to set up the share certificate to prove share ownership.
It’s vital that you set up the certificate using an expert. We offer a Share Certificate service HERE.
Here it’s important not to skimp on the formalities. It’s your company’s responsibility to issue share certificates to every shareholder.
It’s also vital to set up a formal shareholder’s agreement if you, and one or more people, own the majority shares in your company.
A Letter of Good Standing is essentially a document proving you’ve paid Workman’s Compensation for all your employees and your client won’t be liable for your employees.
If your company have employees, you’re legally required to pay Workman’s Compensation. This essentially means the Workman’s Compensation Fund (COID), in the case of any harm to your employees or work-related accidents, will assist you in paying for the medical and additional costs.
It’s also important to note that there are other employer requirements. If you have employees you have to comply SARS and the Department of Labour.
At SARS you need to be registered for PAYE (pay-as-you-earn tax) and SDL (Skills Development Levy) and at the Department of Labour, you need to be registered for UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund).
There are annual, bi-annual and requirements.
However, there are a few exemptions:
You can read more about PAYE, SDL and other employer requirements here:
Government Tenders are often underestimated as people assume they are awarded unfairly.
However, the majority of Tenders are awarded according to strict Tender application requirements and any company that can offer the right services at a competitive price stands a fair chance.
Regarding the required CSD registration, the Central Supplier Database (CSD) is essentially a list the Government makes of all its legally approved suppliers. You cannot apply for a Tender without being registered on the Government’s CSD. You can head straight to the National Treasury’s website to complete an online registration form.
After your submission (you’ll have to submit specific compulsory documentation as well) the Government will assess your application. However, CSD registration is included in both our Tender Packages if you’re interested in an effortless package of all the essential Compliance Docs:
If you’d like to find out more on Government Tenders, read our blog post specifically on this topic:
As every Tender has its own set of requirements, we offer a wide range of services to cover whatever the requirements are.
You can take a look at our full service list here.
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