Understand your own (Pty) Ltd
From registration to staying compliant.
A step-by-step course built straight from the Companies Act and SA law — so you actually understand what you're signing, what to file, and when. Do the work as you learn, and finish with a real, compliant company and a calendar that keeps it that way.
Built from the actual Companies Act — join South African founders setting up their company the right way.
61-second overview — what you learn and how it works.
Starting a company in South Africa shouldn't feel like defusing a bomb. But here you are.
You've got the business idea. What you don't have is a straight answer to a simple question: am I doing this right?
- You're scared of getting it wrong with CIPC or SARS — filing the wrong thing, missing a deadline, getting a penalty you didn't know existed.
- Every blog, Facebook group and YouTube video tells you something different. One says register for VAT, one says don't. Who's right?
- Somewhere you read that as a director you can be held personally liable — your car, your house, your savings. Nobody explained when that actually happens, so now it just sits there as a low-grade fear.
- The "just hire a professional" advice is easy to give and hard to afford. You can't put an accountant and an attorney on retainer to answer every question while you're still finding your feet.
So you do nothing, or you do it half-right and hope. Both cost you — in penalties, in stress, and in nights spent reading the same conflicting threads.
You've probably already tried some of these.
| What you've tried | The catch |
|---|---|
| DIY off Google | Free, but you stitch together advice from different years, different countries, and different company types. The mistakes are invisible until SARS or CIPC finds them. |
| R890–R4,990 "done-for-you" registration | You get a registration certificate and a thank-you email. You still don't know what an MOI is, what to file next, or how to stay compliant. You've spent money to stay clueless. |
| Random YouTube / blog advice | Often outdated, often US/UK, rarely tells you when things are due or how they connect. Great for a vibe, useless as a system. |
| Overpriced academic / "business" courses | Theory-heavy, generic, and rarely South African. You finish with notes, not a registered, running company. |
What's different here: This course is built directly on the Companies Act 2008 and South African law — CIPC, SARS, the Department of Employment & Labour — not recycled, borderless internet advice. It's comprehensive and action-first: you don't just read it, you do it on your own business as you go. And if your trade has its own rules — construction grading, food certificates, customs permits, POPIA duties — there are optional Sector Packs that bolt on exactly that, and nothing you don't need.
Start & Run Your Company — a founder's course, built for South Africa.
It's the course we wish existed when we started: plain English, no jargon for jargon's sake, and a real worked example running through the whole thing so you always see how it applies in practice.
By the end you'll have:
- Chosen and justified your company structure — and know exactly why a (Pty) Ltd fits (or doesn't).
- A clear plan to register with CIPC and get tax-ready with SARS — no guessing the order of operations.
- A working compliance calendar and register — so "what's due and when" is answered for good.
- The director's-duty judgement to run your company without wandering into personal liability.
Part 1 — Foundations
Understand before you leap. Why a company, the key people, the rules of the game, the director's role.
Part 2 — Setting Up
From decision to ready-to-trade: CIPC registration, SARS, becoming an employer, your launch pack.
Part 3 — Running & Sustaining
Operate, comply and grow — without getting personally liable. Your compliance operating system.
Honest about who it fits.
This is for you if…
- You're a first-time or early-stage South African founder starting (or about to start) a (Pty) Ltd.
- You're not a lawyer or accountant, and you don't want to become one — you just want to do this properly.
- You want to understand what you're doing, not just outsource it and stay in the dark.
- You'd rather spend a few hundred Rand learning the system once than thousands every time you have a question.
This is not for you if…
- You want someone to do everything for you while you learn nothing — that's a service, not a course.
- You're running a large, complex group with attorneys and auditors already on the job.
- You need formal legal or tax advice for a specific dispute — this is education, and we'll tell you plainly when to call a professional.
- You're outside South Africa — this is built on SA law and SA regulators, end to end.
Everything you need to take a company from idea to registered, running and compliant — in one place.
The Core Course — Start & Run Your Company
3 parts, 17 modules, action-first. Foundations → Setting Up → Running & Sustaining.
A worked running case — Lerato's Kitchen (Pty) Ltd
One real business threaded through every module, so theory always lands as practice.
Assessment + Capstone
~80 self-check questions with answers, plus the integrative capstone: "found your company on paper" — one linked dossier from concept to compliance system.
Compliance Calendar + Master Register (CSV)
The monthly / quarterly / yearly rhythm, ready to drop into your own business with an owner per task.
The handbooks
The Director's Handbook and the Running a Company Handbook as your ongoing references — long after you finish the course.
Optional Sector Packs
Add only your industry's extras — Consulting · Trading/Retail · Construction · IT/Digital · Hospitality & Transport · Agriculture · plus a Solo overlay for one-person companies.
You walk away with a Founder's Operating File for your own venture — not a certificate that gathers dust.
The short version, if you skipped the video.
This course wasn't reverse-engineered from a marketing funnel. It was built from the source — the public Companies Act 2008, the real CIPC and SARS processes, and the actual duties the law puts on a director. Not a US template with "Rand" pasted over "dollar." Not a blog post expanded into a PDF. The real, South African thing, written so a normal person can follow it.
We built it because we watched too many good founders get burned by the gap in the middle: too small to afford a full professional team for every decision, too serious to wing it off Google. They didn't need someone to do it for them. They needed someone to show them how the system actually works, in order, in plain language — once — so they could run their own company with confidence.
That's the whole product. No magic, no shortcuts, no "get rich." Just the right way to set up and run a company in South Africa, finally explained like you're a capable adult who simply hasn't done this before.
One fair price to learn the system once.
Think about what you'd pay otherwise: a single done-for-you registration runs R890 to R4,990 — and you still come out the other side not understanding your own company. This teaches you the whole thing, and you keep it.
Core Course
Everything in the value stack. Lifetime access. 30-day money-back guarantee.
- 3 Parts · 17 modules · action-first
- Worked case + Assessment + Capstone
- Compliance calendar + register (CSV)
- Both handbooks · lifetime access
- + 12 months Compliance Membership
Core + 1 Pack
Most founders — the full course tailored to your industry.
- Everything in the Core Course
- Plus one Sector Pack of your choice
- Your trade's licences, contracts & risks
- Saves R99 vs buying separately
All-Access
Advisors, accountants, or anyone working across industries.
- The Core Course
- Every Sector Pack (×7)
- The Solo & One-Person overlay
- The complete library, lifetime
Still less than one done-for-you registration — and you actually understand what you're doing. Not sure which pack? Which Track Do I Need?
Every course purchase includes 12 months of the Compliance Membership — annual law/Budget updates, compliance reminders, new Sector Packs, the template library, community Q&A and priority support. It renews at a flat R250/year, you can cancel anytime, and you keep your course forever either way. How the membership works →
Try it for 30 days. If it doesn't deliver, you don't pay.
Go through the course. Apply it to your own business. If within 30 days you don't feel clearer, more confident, and genuinely more capable of setting up and running your company — email us and we'll refund you in full. No hoops, no hard feelings.
The only thing you're risking is staying confused.
Frequently asked questions
Is this legal or tax advice?
No — and we're upfront about that. This is an educational course that explains how the system works so you can make informed decisions and ask better questions. For advice on your specific situation or a dispute, see a qualified professional. We tell you plainly, throughout the course, when that moment has arrived.
Do I still need a lawyer or accountant?
For most of getting started, you can do far more yourself than you think — that's the point of the course. For some things (complex shareholder agreements, disputes, certain tax positions) a professional is worth every cent. The difference is you'll know what you're paying them for and why, instead of paying for things you could have handled.
Which Sector Pack do I need — or do I need one at all?
The Core Course stands on its own for getting registered and compliant. A Sector Pack adds only what's unique to your trade. Not sure? Use the simple guide: Which Track Do I Need?
How does access work?
You buy through our store and get instant, online access to the course, the assessment, the compliance calendar and register, and the handbooks. It's yours to work through at your own pace, and you keep access.
Is the content up to date?
It's built on the Companies Act 2008 and current CIPC, SARS and Labour processes. Rates, thresholds and deadlines do change (often each Budget in February/March) — so the course teaches you the system and where to verify, and points you to the official sources for live numbers, rather than pretending a fixed figure is true forever.
What's your refund policy?
A full 30-day money-back guarantee. If it's not for you, email us within 30 days and we'll refund you.
Is this only for South Africa?
Yes. Every step — registration, tax, employing, compliance — is built around South African law and regulators. If you're starting a company here, it fits. If you're elsewhere, it won't.
You're going to run this company either way. Do it the way that protects you.
The fear doesn't go away by avoiding it — it goes away when you finally understand the system. A few hundred Rand and a few focused hours from now, you could have a properly set-up company and a routine that keeps it compliant. That's the whole promise.
30-day money-back guarantee · lifetime access · built on the Companies Act.