Hiring your first employee or taking over an existing payroll? Vatco helps you review the employer registration required, prepare the application and organise the handover into payroll declarations and reconciliations, with the responsibilities made clear from the start.
Your requirements · A clear scope · Your next step
Start with the person or entity that employs the staff. A company, sole proprietor and organisation may each need employer-tax attention, but the registration must reflect the actual employer. If you run several businesses or are moving employees between entities, explain that arrangement before applying. The trading name printed on a payslip is not enough to establish the correct taxpayer.
PAYE is the employees’ tax withholding system. SARS sets the employer registration requirements, including circumstances where registration is not required because none of the employees is liable for normal tax. Rather than using an old salary threshold from a generic page, assess the actual remuneration and current requirements.
Confirm the actual employer and the first date staff were paid before choosing the registration scope.
Earlier payroll activity needs its own review alongside the registration request.
Start with the existing employer record and an authorised handover.
Swipe across to compare all columns.
| Cost item | Price or basis | What to allow for |
|---|---|---|
| Vatco registration assistance | Quoted per employer and agreed registrations | The quote identifies PAYE, any UIF or SDL work, document preparation, authorised submission and the follow-up included. |
| SARS eFiling platform | R0 platform access | SARS describes eFiling as free. This is separate from Vatco’s preparation fee and from payroll tax or contributions payable. |
| Historical payroll corrections | Quoted by periods and record condition | Missing declarations, payroll reconstruction and corrections are priced separately after the earlier records have been reviewed. |
| Recurring payroll and declarations | Separate recurring scope | Confirm employee data, payroll frequency, EMP201 preparation, EMP501 work and who authorises payments. |
| Tax, UIF or SDL amounts | Calculated from the applicable payroll position | Amounts due to SARS are employer obligations. Paying Vatco’s application fee does not settle them. |
The service fee, any amount payable to the authority and additional work are separate. The table identifies the scope to confirm before you proceed.
The exact SARS supporting documents depend on the application, but these preparation steps make it easier to identify missing information before a request is lodged and before employees need their next payslips.
Bring the employer’s registration details, existing SARS references, address and banking information.
Identify the authorised representative and the person who will manage payroll administration. Where the entity already has a public officer recorded, check that the position is current before requesting access changes or additional tax products.
Set out the proposed or actual first payroll period and explain any earlier payments to staff.
If payroll has already started, retain salary reports, payslips and payment records rather than assuming the application starts all obligations from today. Earlier activity may need separate review, which should be identified in the quote.
For an existing business changing service providers, ask for a handover of registration notices, submission history and payroll exports.
Confirm whether branches have separate arrangements or whether the payroll is managed centrally.
Supply the identity evidence required for the employer’s legal form. The PAYE guide allows ordinary copies; it does not impose blanket certification of every copy.
Prepare the business address and bank records requested for this employer. Check the actual SARS list or review notice before paying to certify documents.
The SARS employer-registration guide says copies do not need certification. A copy of an ID also does not replace appointment or mandate evidence.
A PAYE application can be selected for validation before a reference is allocated. Keep the Registration Application Review Notice and respond to the documents it requests.
We review the employer details and agree the registration work, document requirements and responsible contacts.
The next stage is preparing the application through the appropriate SARS channel using authorised access.
Keep the acknowledgement and any follow-up correspondence together.
After an outcome is available, organise the practical handover: the reference, registered details, outstanding actions and the next reporting requirements.
Registration does not calculate employee deductions, produce accurate payslips or reconcile payments automatically. Those tasks need current employee information and a repeatable process. Before the first payroll run, agree how starters, leavers, remuneration changes and supporting records will reach the person preparing it.
We can estimate preparation after assessing readiness, but SARS verification and requests for additional material affect the eventual outcome. Do not delay reviewing an employer obligation simply because your payroll is small or a contract is temporary. Start with the facts, establish the next required action and keep the resulting record available to the person responsible for ongoing submissions.
The employer’s circumstances and current employees’ tax rules need to be assessed. SARS guidance includes an exception where none of the employees is liable for normal tax. Share the actual remuneration and employment arrangements rather than relying only on the number of workers.
No. The employer registration and an individual employee’s income tax record serve different purposes. A payroll handover should identify both the employer references and missing employee information, so the team preparing payroll and certificates knows what still needs attention.
We can review the situation, but earlier payroll activity must be disclosed. Provide payment dates and records so the appropriate application details and any historical work can be considered. A new registration should not be used to hide earlier remuneration or assumed to erase previous obligations.
Confirm the written scope. Their requirements should be considered alongside PAYE, but the relevant obligations and channels can differ. The quote should identify what the team will apply for and whether separate Department of Employment and Labour work is required.
That can be discussed as a separate recurring service. Registration prepares the employer profile; ongoing payroll and declarations depend on fresh employee and payment information each period. Agree who supplies the data, approves the figures and makes the actual SARS payment.
Give the employer’s legal name, whether payroll has begun, the approximate workforce size and any existing employer reference. Explain whether this is a new setup, takeover or correction. The team can then confirm the document list and scope without requesting passwords in the public enquiry.
Go deeper with guidance from the relevant authorities.
Employer registration and related payroll tax requirements.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCEThe reporting duties that follow employer registration.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCEEntity-specific employer information, authority and ordinary document-copy guidance.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCERegistration access and application validation notices.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCEIdentity, address and entity records depend on the request.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCEOfficial confirmation that eFiling platform use is free.
Open the resourceShare your requirements with Vatco.
Confirm the scope, documents and fees before proceeding.
