5 Compliance Mistakes SMEs Make and How to Avoid Them
Running an SME in South Africa is demanding—especially with SARS regulations continually evolving. While keeping compliant can feel like a full-time job, small mistakes can result in costly penalties and unnecessary stress. At Bletchleys, we’ve seen firsthand how these mistakes can drain your time, money, and entrepreneurial spirit.
Here are five of the most common compliance mistakes SMEs make, and how you can easily avoid them:
1. Missing Deadlines for Submissions
The pace of business often means important submission deadlines—VAT returns, PAYE, and annual tax returns—can slip through the cracks. Late submissions result in fines, penalties, and unwanted attention from SARS.
How to Avoid:
Set reminders or use automated tools and calendars to track important SARS dates. Outsourcing to a reliable partner like Bletchleys ensures all your deadlines are met on time, every time.
2. Poor Record-Keeping Practices
Disorganised records aren’t just inconvenient; they’re a compliance disaster waiting to happen. Accurate records are critical, and poor bookkeeping can quickly escalate into costly problems.
How to Avoid:
Implement clear processes for capturing and storing financial information. Consider cloud-based solutions like Sage or QuickBooks, or outsource your bookkeeping entirely to a trusted provider to ensure consistent accuracy.
3. Misclassifying Expenses
Incorrectly categorising business expenses can lead to incorrect VAT and tax submissions, which trigger unwanted audits and potential fines from SARS.
How to Avoid:
Maintain clear guidelines for expense classifications and train your team accordingly. Regular reviews and reconciliations by an experienced bookkeeper or accountant can significantly minimise errors.
4. Mixing Personal and Business Finances
Many SME owners inadvertently blur lines between personal and business finances. This common mistake complicates bookkeeping, increasing compliance risks and making accurate financial reporting difficult.
How to Avoid:
Separate business and personal accounts immediately. Dedicated business bank accounts and clearly defined financial policies make bookkeeping simpler and compliance easier to manage.
5. Ignoring Changes in SARS Regulations
Compliance rules evolve regularly. SMEs that fail to stay updated risk non-compliance, unnecessary penalties, and audits.
How to Avoid:
Assign someone internally to regularly monitor regulatory updates, or partner with an outsourced compliance expert like Bletchleys. We proactively manage regulatory changes so you can focus on your business, assured your financial compliance remains airtight.
Compliance Made Easy with Bletchleys
Navigating compliance doesn’t need to be complicated or stressful. Bletchleys specializes in solving precisely these problems. We help SMEs stay compliant by ensuring submissions are timely, records are accurate, and your business is always audit-ready.
By outsourcing your compliance requirements to us, you can reclaim your valuable time, cut costs significantly, and eliminate the hassle and stress of dealing directly with SARS.
Imagine the relief of knowing compliance is always handled professionally, accurately, and on time.
Don’t let compliance drain your time and resources. Let Bletchleys take the hassle out of compliance.
Trusted Partners in Cloud Accounting
Proudly working with Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks to keep your business compliant, efficient, and in control.
