Nation Minimum Wage
Minimum wage set to improve many people’s lives as South Africa will be joining several other countries who have implemented a national minimum wage as a way of economic and social development.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a deal which sets minimum wage to be at R20 per hour, R3 500 per month for those who work a 40 hours week and R3 900 for a 45 hours week.
Minimum wage is aimed to be implemented as from 01 May 2017. This is to start the process of challenging wage inequality in South Africa.
Deputy President was briefing on the details of the status of the National Economic Development Council’s committee of the principals (CoP) on labour relations and wage inequality. This can be a relief to many people in South Africa who have been earning less than the minimum amount, it may not necessarily fix everything but it is aimed as a step forward towards making a positive change against inequality when it comes to labour and wages.
Now is the time to start your Business
We have so many enquiries of people who are working on starting a new business. If this is you or you know of someone, then this article is for you.
Being your own Boss and running your own business seems like a fantasy dream for anyone trapped in a corporate job or sitting at home unemployed. But it is not all fluffy pillows and cute puppies. Starting a business is tough and requires hard work, long hours and a host of networks, hoop-jumping and regulations to get through.
That is where we come in. We do this for a living and helping you start and grow your business is what we do, and we are good at it.
To assist you or a friend, we have set aside two days in March to kick start your business.
Join us for a half-day programme to kick start your financial future as you learn what to do next to start your profitable business. In this programme you will:
- Complete a business readiness assessment
- Learn what 5 initial steps to take in developing a business
- Understand the legal and compliance issues
- Develop a plan of action to take the first step
Signup for one of our programmes today for just R300 and also receive a full list of over 100 business development steps that require your attention within the first year of business.
The dates are:
To register for one of these dates, please click HERE to get to our events calendar, click on the date and complete the online registration form.
Do you have a financial calendar?
A financial calendar? What is that, you say? The answer is a simple one: a financial calendar is just a year planner that details all the deadline dates for the various submissions to SARS, CIPC and other compliance agencies. Keeping track of all these alleviates the last minute stress and panic we see on a lot of business owners faces when we talk about these things and will also help eliminate those unnecessary fines you have to pay for overdue returns.
So here are a few dates to remember and add to your financial calendar for this year.
- Next week 28th is the deadline for the provisional tax returns and payments for both companies and provisional taxpayers
- This is due again at the end of August.
- Monthly PAYE and UIF
- The deadline for your annual CIPC submission is in the date month that your business was registered. Find your CK1 document and add this to your diary.
- If you are VAT registered you will fall in either the ODD or EVEN month’s returns. This will require you to return your 2 months submissions every second month together with payment by the end of the month.
- Your workman’s compensation recon is due in May
Add additional items such as your vehicle’s licence renewal, any annual organisational membership or professional bodies and any trade or industry organisation fees.
All these once planned and added to your budget will give you a sense of ease that will not lead to panic, late payments and penalties.
Of course, if you have us doing your accounting for you, we take care of all these items for you and just let you know when we need what from you and how much to pay whom. For more on our accounting service go HERE.
Financial Statements – Statement of Financial Position
Financial statements reflect the health of a business as the life of every business is reflected in its books. It is very important that business owners familiarize themselves with the financial statements and not only leave it to the accounting team. The more you know about your financial statements the better, this enables you to be in a better position to make sound judgement in regards to the decisions you make when you know how your business is doing financially. It is very important that you do not exclude yourself as a business owner but familiarize yourself enough to at least have an idea of what is happening in your financial statements.
The statement of financial position also known as the balance sheet will reflect the business’s financial position or value at a specific point in time. It reflects the business’s assets, liabilities and equity.
The benefits of knowing what is happening in your statement of financial position includes:
It will assist you to review your business performance.
You will need to produce it when looking for investors for your business.
It is it vital for your business plan.
Required for Annual Financial Statement.
Looking Ahead to 2017
Many people are back at work this week after taking a break. Others have worked themselves to a standstill and are looking forward to a break.
Whatever group you belong to, welcome to 2017. It is going to be just another year with the same old same old. Unless you do something to change things. We have a sign in our office that reads “If you change nothing, nothing will change”. This cannot be truer. The future is what you make it and it requires a conscious move from being a reactive person to a proactive person.
Reactive people wait to be told to do something before they start anything. They wait for the alarm clock to go off, then get out of bed, they wait for others to do things for them and wait to be told what to do.
Proactive people get up early because they want to. They seek out opportunities and explore them. They invent things to do discovering new ideas and different ways to do things. They engaged with people to initiate conversation and build networks.
May your year ahead, no matter what it may throw at you, be one of focus, enthusiasm and breaking ground for growth and expansion.