Supplier notes
Prep notes for Counter Hour
What to send before the booked counter hour.
Pick the Focus for Your Hour
Whenever I book a Counter Hour with a founder, step one is always clarifying what you want out of the session. Do you need supplier quotes signed off, is it compliance documents for a new bank account, or maybe a quick way to sort out old VAT201 headaches? I once sat with The Pepper Pot, a catering business in Newcastle, who thought they just needed help with a load-shedding backup quote. Turned out, they also had an unsigned COIDA return hiding at the bottom of a folder. That session would have run over if we hadn’t decided priorities in advance. Decide up front: What is urgent and what can be put aside? Use the official checklist to avoid missing anything obvious.
Gather the Right Paperwork Early
In South African terms, ‘paperwork’ means more than forms from stationery shops. Think: stamped municipal invoices, CIPC registration certificates, SARS PINs, FICA packs from your bank, even utility bills with matching business addresses. If you’re planning to update business info or open a new supplier account, say, with a hardware outlet in Durbanville, bring original IDs or certified copies. I always ask founders to check their supplier quotes for last-minute expiry dates. If an owner-manager from a taxi business rocks up with a pile but misses their EMP201, it’s an own goal. If you’re not sure what counts, use the kit outline as a reference just before your slot.
What to Send Us Before the Hour
The day before your session, email the core documents to magic@bizmagic.co.za. If something is missing, flag it in your email, don’t try wing it. Suppliers and bank officers are wonderful until you waste their time. Here’s my short cue sheet I ask teams to follow before every Counter Hour. Takes fifteen minutes but could save you a week of back and forth. I’ve found it’s often the supplier proof of payment that gets forgotten, especially when founders are juggling too many things at once.
- Latest CIPC disclosure (make sure it shows the correct directors)
- Up-to-date SARS PIN or tax clearance status letter
- Three supplier quotes, correctly dated
- Proof of business banking (e.g. stamped confirmation)
- Any municipal invoices if address is being verified
- Contact details for at least one supplier rep
Supplier Relationships: Keep It Clean
If you expect to invite your supplier, landlord or banker in for your hour, let us know so we can prep the space and keep things moving. At the hubs, whether you’re booked in Sandton, Durbanville, or Woodstock, the etiquette is: respect the other founders’ time. Some suppliers will want a copy of a signed resolution, others will dig in their heels about B-BBEE affidavits. Bring both, just in case. SARS officers and CIPC reps can be a bit slow to reply, so if you’re following up on an application, mail them in the morning so you have the latest before you sit down. And if your landlord wants to tag along, that’s alright, just make sure you’ve got the lease and the last rates bill neatly scanned, not in your bag somewhere under a laptop charger. I’ve seen more than one session stall because a cafe owner from Paarl couldn’t find their rates bill. I nearly missed my own lunch that day.
Get Handover Notes Right
After your session, always write a short handoff email with actions and who owns them. Even if you are a solo founder, you’ll thank yourself when month-end hits and your memory is swimming. If you have a manager or a part-time bookkeeper, copy them in. For regular ops, use the official handoff format, and if you’re formalising your ops rituals, see the rituals recommendation for weekly follow-up. The best sessions I’ve seen all ended with a five-line summary, a couple of deadlines, and (honestly) a reminder to keep the BIC pen handy for the next forms. Don’t leave it for ‘sometime this week’, that’s how small things eat your Friday afternoon.
Find More Resources Quickly
Finally, if you get stuck on something fiddly, like HS codes for SADC paperwork, or the correct format for supplier FICA packs, don’t wait for your next Counter Hour. Tap into our resources page or check with your registered practitioner right away. Most growing businesses hit the same snags, whether you’re a jam maker from Durbanville or a tile fitter out in Mthatha. The trick is knowing which piece to chase and when.
