9 Must-Have Business Documents for Your SME

Having the correct documentation plays a fundamental role in the smooth running of your business. Business documents can help you ensure your business is compliant with laws, easier management of employees and onboarding with your internal documents such as contractual agreements.

You might have an existing small business, or perhaps you’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurship bug, and you want to find out what are the must-have business documents. Well, stick around, because we have the intel you need to ensure your business has all the required documentation.

1. CIPC Company Registration

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) deals with the registration of your company and its intellectual property.

One of the legal requirements for starting a business in South Africa is to register with the CIPC. If you have a business website, you can register your domain name with the CIPC.

2. Employment Contracts

There are various types of contracts you will need to have to ensure the smooth running of your business. One of them is an employment contract, these are crucial in ensuring that there are clear terms and an agreement outlined to protect both yourself as the employer and your employees.

Drafting an employment contract might seem like a complex task, but it doesn’t have to be as you can draft your own employment contract.

3. Lease Agreement

You need to ensure that you keep your lease agreement in your records should anything happen, and you need to revisit it. Changes may occur in your business that may need you to try and get out of your fixed-term lease. When that happens, you’ll want to be able to look back and refer to the signed agreement.

4. Files for Business Tax

In order to comply with small business tax regulations, you must have good record-keeping. You need to keep various documents such as invoices, receipts, cancelled checks, credit purchases, assets, liabilities, and stock-taking.

SARS requires that you keep a record of all financial losses and gains for five years. Additionally, you need to submit your tax documents to SARS every business year-end. So, keeping record of your spending and financial gains makes it easier for you when you need to get ready for tax season.

5. Finance Records

Accurately keeping track of the financial records of your business not only helps you comply with SARS’ requirements but allows you to track your business’s finances effectively.

One of the essential ways to track the financial status of your business is to draft a balance sheet. A balance sheet allows you to have a bird’s eye view of your business’s assets and liabilities.

6. Company Policies

Developing company policies is one of the basic aspects of human resources in the workplace. In your business, you should have various company policies to outline the conduct and guidelines of your company.

The policies can include health and safety guidelines, harassment and discrimination, remote work policy, device usage, and many other aspects that are necessary to cover. Company policies are essential as they allow for better management of your staff and a harmonious workflow.

7. Client, Partnership and Contractor Agreements

Before you enter into any sort of agreement as a business, you must draft a written agreement to ensure that there’s proof of the agreement. It’s also important to store them safely and have a backup of the agreement. Luckily, there are digitised contracts now, as well as cloud storage options to ensure that your documents don’t get lost.

8. Employee Training and Development Documents

If your business has any training and development efforts (which it should), documenting it allows you to keep track of who has completed their training and who still needs to.

Documenting the process also makes it better when you reflect on your strategy and assess whether your training efforts are effective or not.

9. Legislation Wall Charts

All South African employers must display the following wall charts in areas that are visible to all employees. The compulsory wall charts are as follows:

• Summary of the Employment Equity Act (EEA)
• Summary of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
• Employers with machinery and boilers must display health and safety notices.
• A copy of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Act 85 of 1993) for employers with 5 or more employees.