News
The Small Business Trends You Should Be Paying Attention To
While everyone’s talking about AI, trends are emerging that show the most successful small businesses have returned to the fundamentals: maximising every minute and tightening the leaks in local operations.
Running a business in today’s topsy-turvy world is all about making the machine run smoother, ensuring that every hour spent translates directly into the bottom line and this is how they are doing it.
Non-Compliant Trust? Penalties are Piling up…
This tax season marks an important shift for trusts, which are now subject to heightened reporting requirements, regardless of activity, as well as automated penalties for non-compliance starting on 4 May 2026.
If you have a non-compliant trust, even if it is inactive, please speak to us. SARS has taken a zero-tolerance approach to trust compliance, increasing scrutiny of trust administration and automatically applying ongoing penalties and interest that can rapidly accumulate.
Selling Your Business to Retire? Get This Tax Relief!
If you’re a small business owner aged 55 or older, the 2026 Budget contained some very good news. Not only has the CGT exemption on the sale of small business by older persons been increased, but the definition of “small business” has also been expanded.
This could make a big difference to your retirement situation, not to mention the future of your business. Find out here what the new limits and conditions are, and how they might affect the decision and timing of a business sale.
The 40% Rule: Do You Have Too Many Eggs in One Basket?
Client concentration risk can sink a healthy business faster than falling sales. When one customer accounts for too much revenue, cash flow, valuation, and even survival hinge on decisions you don’t control.
Here we explain the “40% Rule.” What it is, why lenders and investors care about it, and how to manage concentration risk before it manages you.
“Invisible Work”: 3 Labour-Intensive Things Customers Will Never Pay For
Many small business owners fall into the “do it all” trap. You start with passion, but soon find yourself buried in tasks that have nothing to do with why you launched your venture. This leads to chronic burnout. You are busy, but are you productive?
This feeling of being overwhelmed often stems from a failure to distinguish between being busy and making progress. That’s why you have to identify the “invisible work” that consumes your energy without ever appearing on a customer’s invoice or adding real value.
Annual Employer Tax Recon Due End May
The Annual Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501) remains a focus area for SARS. Employers have until the end of May to submit their declarations for the period 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026.
We invite you to rely on our expertise to ensure compliance with this legal requirement, as submitting incorrect or incomplete declarations (or missing the deadline) will cause additional work, penalties, delays and hassles for you and your employees.
When Growth Is a Tax Problem
Growth feels like progress. Sales increase, staff numbers rise, and profit improves. Yet each of these shifts changes your tax position. Here we examine how business expansion can trigger VAT obligations, higher provisional tax payments, payroll risk, structural strain, and cash flow pressure. Then we discuss what small business owners should address before growth creates avoidable tax exposure.
New VAT Thresholds: Thinking of Deregistering?
The recent increases in the compulsory VAT registration threshold to R2.3 million and in the voluntary registration threshold to R120,000 are widely welcomed. It will certainly ease the administrative burden on small businesses and the strain on their cash flow. Businesses that do not exceed the higher threshold on 1 April 2026 may apply to deregister for VAT. But be certain to rely on our expertise when making this decision, as it’s fraught with potentially costly consequences.
How to Create a Team Building Experience That Really Works
While on the surface they are just a spot of fun, team building exercises are actually a strategic investment in your business culture and performance. Done well, team building strengthens communication, fosters trust, and boosts morale. Done poorly, it feels like a forced afternoon that costs money and delivers little. As a small business owner, you need team building events that produce tangible improvements. Here’s how to do that.
15% Global Minimum Tax (GMT) Goes Live at SARS
The global minimum tax (GMT) – called an “agreement that will really change the world” – will be implemented in South Africa by SARS in 2026/27. While it may not impact your business directly, it should ultimately reduce your share of the tax burden by ensuring all multinational enterprises (MNEs) contribute their fair share of local taxes. SARS is actively preparing and the GMT registration and notification functionality on the eFiling platform went live on 16 March 2026. Find out here why specialist advice will be ever more important for local and global taxpayers in South Africa.