Obtaining a company registration is the first step toward receiving a government grant or finance from private investors.
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. This constitutes a change to its MOI (Memorandum Of Incorporation).
All companies must have an MOI, which sets out the rules agreed to by the shareholders for the management and maintenance of the business. Private companies may be registered with a standard or customised MOI. The standard MOI is provided by law and is integrated into the company registration process. A customised MOI allows shareholders to impose certain conditions or waive certain requirements, such as an audit requirement. Such MOI’s must be attached to the applications and may require the assistance of a legally qualified person or someone with company secretarial knowledge. Private companies with customised MOI’s can only be registered manually.
If your initial name reservation is not approved, you will need to apply for new names. You may apply for between 1 to 4 names during each application process. Each name reservation application costs R50. A company registration may vary between R125 and R475 for (R125 for a private company, and R475 for a non-profit company registered without members).
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 a non-profit company, depending on its objectives. An association of professionals such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc may be registered as a personal liability company.
A private company is the most common and simplest form of company to be registered. It is comparable to a close corporation. Close corporations are no longer registered.
Private companies may not offer shares to the public and restrictions are also placed on the transferability of their shares. Private companies must have at least one director and one incorporator. The director and incorporator may be the same person. The word “person” includes a juristic entity. This means that a legal entity or a trust may be an incorporator of a new company.
Contact us if you require assistance in obtaining a company registration.
