Your tech startup is a real business – here’s why you need to register it

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Registering a company in Zimbabwe is still a pain. Everyone who’s walked down that path will share their own stories about the process.

Sure, there are options that are in the works like the online service that the government is tinkering with but it is not yet fully functional so there are still a lot of “offline” frustrations that come with this.

As someone who firmly belives in technology solving problems I keep wishing someone would do what name.co.zw did to domain names but with registering companies instead; if that’s even possible. It would help fledgling entrepreneurs including tech startups.

What’s the big deal?

But why would tech startups want to register their businesses? Why bother anyway? After all, they are working on more important issues like product/market fit and improving their technology, right?

Not quite. If you want to operate as a proper business (which is what a tech startup should be, it’s not a science project) company registration is important.

One of the things that you quickly learn as soon as you try to formalize your little business is that running a business requires a lot of paperwork. Try opening a bank account and you will be asked for all sorts of documentation and forms that will make your head reel.

Insults like CR6, CR14, Memorandum and Articles of Association, Certificate of Incorporation and Tax clearance are casually hurled at you. This is after application forms the size of a Game of Thrones novel have been tossed your way.

Invariably most banks assume that your business is a company. For some reason trying to open a bank account as a sole trader business is even more complicated.

While they told you during high school Commerce that running a sole trader business was easy none of those people ever had to deal with the City of Harare. You should try to register a tech startup that does nothing but to provide services and is not a tuck shop with them.

It will still cost you $200 plus to register a company, there has to be two of you because an individual cannot register a company as well as other onerous requirements. Most company owners unwittingly violate the many provisions in the Company’s Act.

Register your business wisely

Upon noting my despair a friend reminded me of PBCs. Known as a Public Business Corporations they are administered under the Private Business Corporation Act of 1993. Some of the features of a PBC are:

  • A cross between partnerships and limited companies.
  • A legal entity or body corporate which can act in its own name much like a person can.
  • Formed by a 1 to 20 members.
  • Owners are known as members instead of shareholders
  • Its name ends with the words Private Business Corporation or the capitalised abbreviation PBC
  • Every member is an agent of the PBC.
  • All members are directors and choose a chairman to run the affairs of the business.
  • Every member takes part in the managing the affairs of the business
  • Any disputes about the affairs of the business are settled by a majority decision
  • Each member has a vote equivalent to the percentage of capital they contributed.
  • Their affairs are private
  • Each member contributes capital in the form of cash, assets or services to the PBC.

Some these features mean a PBC is a perfect fit for startups. In any case, some of the features listed above can be modified using bylaws. In addition to some of the clear advantages above here are some reasons why you might want to consider registering your sole trader business as a PBC:

Why you should register your start up as a PBC

  • Members have limited liability.
  • There is continuity even if one of the members leaves or dies.
  • Any contract entered into by one member is binding on all members.
  • Can be converted into a company at a later date if you so wish
  • They are cheaper to form and will cost you less than $30 if you do it yourself or around $50 if you hire consultants/agents
  • You can  open a bank account or apply for services like PayNow
  • There are no limitations to revenue
  • You capital amount is unlimited and is does not affect your registration fees.
  • There is no need for Audits
  • You don’t have to tell the Registrar how much you have made each year. With a company you need to tell the Registrar how much money you are making every year or something like that. If you haven’t been doing that you have been breaking the law.
  • Less papers e.g no CR-somethings, Memorandums of this and that or registers of shareholders just the certificate of incorporation

Why you might not want to do it

  • Only individuals acting in their own right can be members of a PBC. A company, partnership etc cannot own a PBC
  • If you were convicted of a crime you cannot form/be a member of a PBC
  • You have to be above 21 years old (may be the cut and pasted this Act from the US or something)
  • Decisions of members are binding on all members so you might want to choose your members carefully. This is true with partnerships (whether there is a verbal/written agreement or not) anyway so this is not a deal breaker.
  • Some people (ignorant bank clerks for example) might not know what the heck you are talking about. In which case go to another branch or simply go to the manager which should fix your problem.

A PBC is an affordable way to operate as a Limited Liability business. While the words PBC might be a challenge to some you should remember that not all countries use the words PVT LTD anyway. In the US the words LLC are preferred, in South Africa they prefer Pty Ltd  and in the UK there are PLCs, Ltd, Ultd etc.

If your tech startup is not yet a company you should really consider the PBC route.

Image credit: youthvillage.co.za

13 comments

  1. Imi Vanhu Musadaro

    There is http://www.companyregistrations.co.zw/ where you can register your PBC online

  2. G

    So basically u can no register a business in zimbabwe for $30 – thats quite impressive, they just need to make the process online also and maybe reduce the turn around time

  3. txt

    limited liability ? what does it mean in simple english, we are programmers

  4. Joe

    In simple terms limited liability zvinoreva mari yedamage yamunokwanisa kubhadhara in the event business rako rabroker, kana compensation to client,customer or associate should a deal turn sour or otherwise. Tinogona kuti mari yecapital yawatanga business nayo.Let’s say u ar a programmer une kacompany kako kawaka register kuti kane capital ye 500bucs and u win a tender and u hav be tasked by eaglesvale high school to design and deploy a library book management system valued at10000 bucks then mopihwa cash yacho. Then 9months down the line . System riya magadzira harisi kubuda bho as agreed.eaglesvale has the right to sue you in a court of law let’s say for producing substandard work yobva yati we want compensation or tidzorerei 10grand yedu.in that scenario judge anongoti ok programmer ko mari inonzi (limited liability) mumatsamba ekuregister private limited company yako is how much? Iwe woti 500bucs.which means eaglesvale is going to be compensated by u up to the value of 500bucs only!! Kwete 10000 yavakabhadhara pa system ravaida riya. Ndozvinoreva limited liability. Thts why uchiona mamwe mabig companies achiramba kuitirwa mabig projects nemasmall companies, vanenge vachitya kunyudzwa pakadai in the event the supplier fails to deliver as promised. So thts why u may find good guys who can produce Exellent work vachitadza kuita breakthrough to land big deals nenyaya Yekuti limited liability yavo kana kuti capital yavo ishoma.so in theory or technically the higher your limited liability or capital yako the more chances you have/advantage of landing big deals!  Though Zvakaitwa Nana wicknell ne zesa it’s the reverse 🙂 hameno kana ndagona if im wrong law graduates correct me please kuti tigoziva the right thing.

    1. Taraz

      @Joe. U are a star. Thanx plenta

    2. txt

      unoda kutengerwa drink iwe

    3. anonymous

      kkkkkk ayas simbi dzenyu mdhara

  5. Satisfied customer

    I registered my own PBC company using http://www.companyregistrations.co.zw, those guys seem to know what they are doing. They actually allow you to do the process online also

  6. @n0n

    You are confused. You fail to simplify what you have researched and conclude in a manner that can help a person make a decision.

  7. Keith

    This is quite good actually. Register as a PBC when starting out (advantage of accepting 1 member) then when your startup takes off, register the company. All the while operating as a proper business.

  8. Kudzai M Mubaiwa

    Just to add that a PBC is a great idea if you are a one man band, you cant start with 100% shareholding and should you ever need to raise capital you can let go of the whatever percentage and adjust accordingly, for a fee (price it in). Also important to note that once you are ready you can convert the PBC into a Pvt Ltd company for some $250 and maintain same name. Be formal from the word go and people will take you seriously.

  9. Mr fred

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    (1) army.
    (2)air force.
    (3) NDA.
    (4) navy.
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  10. IGNORANCE Overides

    To many of us a PBC is like a bond note and P/L a Green Note (USD).
    Calls for Tenders should always ask for equivalent documents from both PBCs and P/Ls.
    They should state CR6 or……., CR14 or………, Memorandum of Association or…………(definitely there are equivalent documents in both types of companies)
    Ignorance is the order of the day. I was reading some proposals in the National Budget 2017, the PBC does not exist even in the minds of the Ministers of Finance etc yet it is regulated by an Act of Parliament. I am sure the ACT was put so that SMEs could easily start and operate business legally and easily. They are now talking about the” ease of doing business” and even acknowledging that SMEs are a force to recoken with yet they do not put the existing laws that support and promote SMEs into force and practice.

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