What a South African business still files with SARS
Which SARS and Department of Employment and Labour submissions a South African business still makes itself on Achekam, and what Achekam prepares for each.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in South Africa
Moving the books onto a new system raises a reasonable question from the owner: "So does it file with SARS now?" For Achekam, the answer is no. Achekam prepares a good deal of what you submit, but every submission to SARS, and to the Department of Employment and Labour, is made by a person at your business or your tax practitioner.
That is not a gap in the paperwork so much as a division of labour, and it works well once everyone knows which side of the line each task sits on. This article lists the submissions a South African business typically makes, what Achekam gives you for each one, and what you still do yourself.
Achekam prepares, a person submits
Achekam does not submit tax returns or payroll declarations to SARS. It does not file any payroll return with, or pay, SARS or any other authority. What it does is prepare documents from your books and payroll, and record what a person filed and paid.
In South Africa, SARS collects tax, CIPC administers the Companies Act and IRBA regulates auditors; the Department of Employment and Labour runs the UIF and the Compensation Fund. Each has its own channel. For SARS that is eFiling, plus e@syFile Employer for the annual payroll reconciliation. SARS's guide to registering for eFiling explains how to register a profile and manage its users and linked tax types, which is the first thing to sort out if nobody at your business can currently log in.
At a glance:
| Submission | Achekam's part | Who submits |
|---|---|---|
| VAT201 | Nothing prepared | You or your practitioner |
| EMP201 (monthly) | Prepared as a PDF from approved runs | You, on eFiling |
| EMP501 (reconciliation) | Reconciliation and e@syFile import file | You, through e@syFile |
| IRP5 and IT3(a) | Prepared from issued payslips | Included in your EMP501 |
| UIF declaration and UI-19 | Prepared from payroll | You, to the UIF |
| COIDA Return of Earnings | Prepared from payroll | You, to the Compensation Fund |
| Company income tax return | Books and reports only | You or your practitioner |
VAT: no VAT201 prepared
Achekam does not prepare, store or submit a South African VAT201, and nothing goes to eFiling from it. The VAT screen does not yet read your own VAT, and the books overview shows only a single output-less-input VAT figure from the ledger.
What you do have is the underlying detail: invoices and bills with their VAT, and, for businesses with a till, posted till sales that can be listed by VAT rate and tax code for any period. Your bookkeeper or practitioner builds the VAT201 from those records and files it. How to pull the figures together is covered in preparing your VAT201 from your books.
The EMP201 every month
The EMP201 is the monthly employer declaration of PAYE, UIF, SDL and the Employment Tax Incentive. Achekam prepares it from approved pay runs, including the incentive, and you download it as a PDF.
The person who files it on eFiling then records the reference SARS gave. Paying is separate: Achekam moves no money, so payment goes through your bank or eFiling as usual. The incentive side is explained in the EMP201 and the Employment Tax Incentive.
The EMP501 through e@syFile
Twice a year, employers reconcile what they deducted, declared and paid with what appears on employees' tax certificates. Achekam's EMP501 reconciliation shows that month by month, and produces the certificate file that SARS e@syFile Employer imports.
The IRP5 and IT3(a) certificates themselves are prepared from issued payslips. A certificate with missing data, such as no income tax reference, can be produced for checking but cannot be issued. Clear those gaps before importing the file, because e@syFile will want them too.
The import, the checks in e@syFile and the submission are yours. Once submitted, record the reference.
UIF declarations and the COIDA Return of Earnings
Three Department of Employment and Labour documents come from payroll: the monthly UIF declaration, the UI-19 for an employee who leaves, and the Compensation Fund's Return of Earnings under COIDA. Achekam prepares all three, and a person files each one and records the reference.
The Department's E03 electronic file is not produced, so plan to submit through whichever channel the Department accepts from you. The details, including what happens when your Compensation Fund assessment rate is missing, are in UIF, the UI-19 and COIDA returns.
Recording each reference you were given
The step most often skipped is the last one: writing down what the authority gave back. A submission reference, an acknowledgement, a payment receipt. Without it, nobody can later prove the return went in on time, and a penalty notice becomes your word against SARS's system.
Make a rule for every submission:
- Submit through the authority's channel.
- Save the acknowledgement or submission reference immediately.
- Record the reference against the document in Achekam where a place is provided, such as the EMP201, the UIF declaration and the COIDA return.
- Keep a copy of the acknowledgement with your records for the period.
- Have a second person glance at it before the month is closed.
Who does what, decided once
Write the list down and give each line an owner: VAT201, EMP201, EMP501, UIF, COIDA, company income tax. Add a deputy for each, for leave and illness. Then put the deadlines in a shared calendar.
The tools make the preparation quicker and the figures more reliable. They do not change who is answerable to SARS, which is still your business. Agree the list with your practitioner this month, so that nothing falls between the two of you.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
