Here’s a guide to complete a company registration online as fast as possible. Please note, you do not need to read through this guide – we are ready to provide you with Free Consultation on Toll Free 0800 007 269 (free to dial from Cellphones and Landlines).
What are the Benefits of a PTY in South Africa?
The preferred choice of a legal entity for most Businesses in South Africa is a Pty. Here’s why:
1. You protect your personal life and assets from your business. If one runs a business, it is necessary to operate in a safe legal structure where your business assets and risks are separated from your personal ones.
2. You look more professional when you operate under a registered business name. If you want to obtain a big contract or tender, it is just so much more professional to trade in a Pty capacity than in your own name.
3. Most Suppliers and Government Departments require businesses to be registered as a Company to apply for their Tenders and Contracts.
How do you register a company in South Africa?
Everything can happen online or even over your phone. There are two ways you can do this from your desktop or your mobile phone:
Method 1: Use a Professional Service like ourselves – saving you time, effort and frustration.
We offer a simple and easy online service for PTY company registration. The only step you need to take is completing the easy online form above. You can also do this over your phone by calling 0800 007 269 – free to dial from your cellphone or landline.
Our experienced business consultants will walk you through everything you need to know to register a new company at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). In fact, our consultants will take care of all the CIPC administration for you. Our business consultants know exactly what to do and they have excellent experience working with the CIPC – saving you time and effort.
Method 2:
The second method means doing everything 100% by yourself through CIPC.
How long does it take to Register a Company?
When you use our experts to facilitate the process, you can rest assure that we will process your documents in the quickest way possible – you can normally have your new company within 1 working day.
What is the requirement for Business Registration?
- You need to be 18 or older.
- A South African address and ID number – no paperwork is required and we can even open your new Company over the phone.
- A Passport if you are a foreigner.
How much does it cost to Register a Business?
We charge R880 for a brand new South African Company with a new Name. This price includes a Guaranteed Company Name, Free Tax Number, Free Official BEE Affidavit, Free Business Bank Account, Free .co.za Domain Name & Website Design (worth R1290) and Free Tender Search (optional).
What is the fastest way to register a small business in South Africa?
There are two ways:
The first option is registering a Pty from scratch, and the second option is buying a Shelf Company. The option that’s best for you depends on how much time you have. Do you need a company registration number today or can you wait a bit?
1. If you need a PTY registration number immediately, buying a Shelf Company could be your best and fastest option.
The fastest way to get a legal PTY is buying one of our Shelf Companies. It’s also the fastest way to get a PTY registration number that you can trade with right away (please verify with your consultant).
2. If you can wait 1 working day, you can register a new PTY as well.
If you have more time, you can also consider a new Pty. We can normally complete a new company registration within 1 working day (please verify your situation with your consultant).
How long does it take to get a Shelf Company in South Africa?
If you buy a Shelf Company from us you can typically get and use the registration number immediately upon payment.
What’s the difference between a Shelf Company and a “normal” Pty in South Africa?
It’s vital to understand that both a “normal” Pty Company and a Shelf Company are legally registered Pty Companies at the CIPC. There is no difference in where or how each of these types of companies are registered. There is simply a difference in when they are registered. When you buy a Shelf Company, it’s already registered at the CIPC. When you register a new PTY Company, you start from scratch with CIPC.
That’s essentially why buying a Shelf Company provide you with an instant company number. It’s a company that has already been legally registered at the CIPC – so you don’t have to.
How do Shelf Companies work?
To put it simply, Shelf Companies are PTYs that are registered and then “put onto a shelf” for other businesses or entrepreneurs to buy.
Shelf Companies are registered with generic names so they can be resold to businesses who need new PTYs immediately.
Once you’ve bought a Shelf Company the ownership details will be changed to your details. If you don’t like the generic name the Shelf Company you bought already has, you can change it to pretty much any name you like. You can always change the name of a Shelf Company.
The other significant difference is the company’s number, which is linked to the year it was registered in.
That implies, if you registered a company at the CIPC in 2019, the year 2019 will reflect in the company number.
If you buy a Shelf Company, its number will be linked to when (the year) it was registered. We offer Shelf Companies from many different years. Older Shelf Companies are usually more expensive as we had to pay their annual returns for several years to keep them active.
How can I register my Company as fast as possible?
Our experts have supported thousands of South African entrepreneurs and small business owners with their company registration and also their tender and other compliance documentation. We assist businesses on a daily basis, so we work with the CIPC on a daily basis. We can usually have a new company ready for you within 1 working day.
How do I register my small business through you?
We offer a fast-tracked and Professional Small Business Registration services. Over the past decade, we’ve cultivated an online service to help entrepreneurs register PTYs, buy Shelf Companies or do alternative small business administration through us.
To Start, just call us on 0800 007 269 and a dedicated business expert will walk you through our easy online system. This system will send you regular emails on important steps in the process. You can also consider to Buy a Shelf Company to get your company number immediately.
Our professional system notifies you which documents you need to upload and where. It also keeps you in the loop on how your services are progressing; it stores your official company documentation in one spot; and it helps you identify other company documentation that might be helpful to your business’s growth. Whats more – you have a dedicated Consultant to assist your small business with all of the above.
We can support you with over 120 small business and administrative services like tender compliance, accounting, industry-specific documentation or branding. You can access our full service list in the sidebar to your right.
How does our online service work?
Our process is easy, fast and streamlined. Once you request the service, we will phone you to explain the easy process to you and request your documentation (if applicable).
After you’ve uploaded or emailed your documents (if applicable – we will assist), our experts will submit all your documents to the CIPC in perfect order and our professional staff will make sure all your forms are filled out correctly. This includes choosing and reserving a name for your new company.
Once everything is submitted and in order, our system will notify you what the timeframe is for the service ordered. Once everything is processed by the CIPC, we will send you your registration papers straight to your email inbox.
These documents will also be stored on our online system in your personal login dashboard. That means you can easily access it again in future.
If you have questions during the process, contact us Toll Free: 0800 007 269 (free to dial from Cellphones and Landlines).
What types of companies are there in South Africa?
The most common type of company for South African entrepreneurs is a private company. It’s also known as a Pty Ltd Company. Other Company types include Public Companies, Personal Liability Companies and External (Foreign) Companies.
Please note, according to South African legislation you can no longer register Closed Corporations. We do offer 2010 Shelf CCs / Shelf Close Corporations for sale if you require a CC / Close Corporation as a legal entity for your Business. Stock is limited and sold on a first come first serve basis.
What is a Pty or a Proprietary Limited Company?
As we mentioned above, a Pty or a Proprietary Limited Company is one of the most popular types of businesses in South Africa.
It’s so popular, because it works for most small to medium businesses in South Africa. This type of business has a “(Pty) Ltd” added to its official paper work. Having a Pty Company helps you limit your personal liability. Why? In the eyes of South African law, it’s considered a separate legal entity. That means, unless you act recklessly or unlawfully, you will not be held personally accountable when things go wrong with your business.
With a Pty you can safeguard yourself; the Pty structure help you ensure your business risks stay contained within your registered company.
You also get a company number, which allows you to apply to Tenders, RFQs, contract or finance in South Africa.
You can be a single owner or you can have up to 50 owners. In a Pty, owners are called shareholders. Although the shareholders are often the directors of a Pty, it’s not automatic. If you have more than 1 owner, you should ensure that you’re registered as both a director and a shareholder.
If you want your business to be a separate legal entity, so you can limit liability, a Pty Company is one of the easiest profit company structures to register in terms of short and long-term paperwork.
It’s also helpful to keep in mind, that our online services will help you rule out most of the admin related to a new Pty Company.
You can be located anywhere in South Africa (or in the world) to use our Fast and Easy Online Services.
We are ready to assist you – call Toll Free 0800 007 269 (free to dial from Cellphones and Landlines).
