Shared Services
The Shared Services Company (SSC) is a stimulating initiative, through which The Synthetic Latex Company’s team of professionals share their diverse corporate skills with budding entrepreneurs. Most small enterprises can’t afford to employ skilled personnel to manage each and every individual organizational task within a business, which is where the SSC’s extensive range of supporting services come in. These include accounting, business, payroll, general administration, operations, HR and legal services, as well as a fully-equipped occupational health clinic. As SSC’s motto says, our passion is to help you realise yours.
On our journey, we have come across a multitude of small business owners, sole proprietors and entrepreneurs, all with a passion for what they do, but stifled by the everyday admin of running a business
Our passion is to help you realise yours.
Our Services
Financial Services
Talk to us for a tailor made financial service ranging from simple bookkeeping or bureau services up to full accounting, auditing services and tax management. We will also help you with new company registrations and maintenance of your current company with CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission).
Accounting
Let’s face it, not all entrepreneurs are accountants, or rather, most entrepreneurs are not accountants! This inescapable part of the business is often seen as a necessary evil and therefore neglected. It is unfortunately of cardinal importance for the effective running and maintenance of your business. We understand this and would therefore like to ease this pain for you by simplifying the process and make it as painless as possible. No more scurrying around to find misplaced receipts or spending your nights capturing daily transactions and data. Let us take care of this and give you more free time to spend on what you excel at; growing your business.
Tax Submissions
Dealing with the taxman is not something that most entrepreneurs enjoy. It is however of extreme importance to keep your tax matters in good order as there are few things that can get as messy as tax problems. Let us help you with this tedious, but extremely important task. We will assist you with:
- Annual tax returns, including your private returns
- Provisional tax
- Top up tax
- VAT returns
Business Services
Company Registration
So you want to start a business but do not know where to start? Starting a business is exciting, but can be quite a red-tape exercise filled with all sorts of decisions. We can help you decide what the best business entity is for your new venture. We will also handle all the admin of dealing with CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission) while you focus on what is important for your business.
Strategic Planning
We know you have a business strategy in your head, let us help you to structure it to cover all important aspects of running and growing a business. You might be surprised where some of the questions we will ask you will lead you, possibly even see important aspects that you may have overlooked before.
This process is more exciting than you think! A business plan and a marketing plan forms an integral part of this process. Let us help you design a working, living blueprint for you business’ future.
Marketing Plans
This is an important part of a well-rounded business strategy and it is important that the marketing plan has a strong strategic foundation. This comprehensive document is a blueprint that outlines your advertising and marketing efforts for the near future and should entail the following:
Which marketing objectives need to be accomplished to achieve your sales objectives?
How will I go about realising these objectives?
We can help you with this, sometimes tedious, process and guide you towards an effective well written plan that will form an integral part of your business plan.
Business Plans
Simply put, a business plan is a blueprint for the success of your whole business. This often-overlooked document is probably one of the most important things you can implement for your business.
It outlines your business goals, the reasons they are attainable and your plans for reaching them. It is a detailed, structured summary of your total business strategy. This is also an important document that is needed when looking for new investors in your business and also when applying for finance. All financial institutions and investors want to be able to see the vision you have in your head, in clear terms that they understand.
This document is ideally a living document that guides your day to day activities on your journey to your goal. We will effortlessly guide you to an effective, high impact business plan.
Payroll
General Administration
Virtual Assistance
As entrepreneurs and creative workers, we should use our brains primarily for creative problem-solving. For the million other everyday decisions, we should use simple rules. It keeps us happier.
We cannot afford to think about everything we are confronted with. There is only so much time available in a day with just too many decisions to make. We can help to ease the overload you are experiencing. Once you have defined the rules for your virtual assistant, you can sit back, relax, and think about the important things that cannot be delegated, like:
- What do I need to grow my business?
- Who should I contact in order to expand my network?
- What should my company look like five years from now?
You cannot solve these creative problems while your brain is cluttered with decisions about visa applications, travel arrangements and frequent flyer programs.
Let us help you with the easy decisions, so that you can focus on the ones that will catapult your business to the next level.
Operations
Process Improvement
Do you ever have the feeling that your process is not running at its optimum? Maybe you have a manufacturing business that has high levels of waste that are costing you precious profits? We offer statistical and process optimization services including experimental design and various evolutionary process optimization techniques. We will help you recognize what data you need to gather and what changes to make to your process to have it running like clockwork. This is of course not limited to manufacturing, but all aspects of business that involves a process, including services.
Human Resources
Company Policies
As your company grows and your staff complement grows, one needs to have policies in place to govern certain aspects of your growing business. It is also needed for compliance with certain regulations that your industry requires. Examples include:
- Disciplinary code
- Dress code
- Safety policies
- Smoking policy
- etc.
Legal Services
We have contracted a panel of legal experts to assist our clients with any legal issues that their business might experience.
The legal panel has been carefully selected to reflect our belief that prevention is better than cure. We believe in “Preventative Law” – “An Ounce of Prevention…” They are continuously involved in commercial, compliance, credit vetting, labour, debt collection and various litigious issues.
In today’s highly regulated business environment, with frequent legislation changes and direction impacting court judgments, nobody can be alone in business. You simply don’t know what you don’t know. There are more than 800 Acts on the South-African law books, and the average business has to contend with at least 50 of them on a continual basis. Sustainability and repute have become entrenched principles. The business will never again be a mere formality.
How compliant is the business you want to buy, sell or attract investors to? Our focus is to make sure our clients do everything they can to minimize the risks that are within their control and to avoid situations that can lead to litigation or regulatory persecution. Our success lies in the proven principle that the cost to fix basic legal problems can be up to 20 times more expensive than doing things right from the beginning.
Our aim is to reduce the client’s risk and exposure to financial loss, unnecessary legal fees and reputational damage. We believe in developing strong and lasting relationships because we are an integral part of their business. The services of our Legal Panel can be obtained by either making use of it on a retainer or on an ad hoc basis.
Retainer Services
The services are also available on a retainer basis, making budgeting very easy. Clients decide on a bouquet of services and the extent thereof, and we are as affordable as their needs dictate.
By means of outsourcing, any business can establish its own legal and compliance department, or extend its existing legal and compliance department. This curbs many of the costs and liabilities associated with permanent staff, for instance:
- Annual leave;
- Bonuses;
- Poor performance;
- Quit and stay;
- Sick leave;
- Succession issues and loss of continuity;
- Legal Resource subscriptions;
- Telephone and IT expenses;
- Training and skills development;
- Untimely resignations.
With a retainer arrangement, the client pays a monthly fee that is reflective of the amount of service the client requires on a monthly basis.
One option is for the retainer fee to cover routine phone calls and emails only, with any additional work performed on an hourly or flat fee basis. Alternatively, the retainer can cover all the client’s legal work required throughout a month
Corporate Law
Corporate law is the body of law that applies to the planning, formation, development, management and governance of various types of businesses.
Corporate law impacts Associations, Companies, Cooperatives, Joint Ventures, Partnerships, Sole Proprietors and Trusts. These entities are continuously in need of assistance in the day to day management of their affairs.
Our expertise includes:
- Compliance and Regulatory matters
- Conflict resolution
- Contracts
- Financing issues
- Labour issues
- Litigation issues
- Management issues
- Structuring
Consumer Law
The Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 as well as the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 have far-reaching implications on South African businesses and has substantial risk implications.
Our expertise includes:
- Compliance implementation and audits
- Drafting of contracts
- Drafting of consumer-related documentation
- Ombud issues
- Product structuring
- Regulatory issues
- Training of personnel
- Tribunal issues
Workshops on material issues
Contract Law
The well-seasoned businessman and entrepreneur need no introduction to the hidden pitfalls of contracts.
Many businesses neglect to obtain professional oversight before signing a contract prepared by another contracting party, or some simply modify an existing contract and hope for the best.
The possible adverse implications range from impractical agreements to outright conflict between parties.
Our experience includes the negotiating, drafting and reviewing of many kinds of contracts, including:
- Acknowledgement of Debt
- Acknowledgement of Liability
- Credit Agreements
- Escrow Agreements
- Facility Agreements
- Financing Agreements
- Independent Contractor Agreements
- Intellectual Property Agreements
- Lease Agreements
- Memorandum of Incorporation
- Non-disclosure Agreements
- Partnership Agreements
- Sale Agreements
- Securitisation Agreements
- Settlement Agreements
- Shareholder Agreements
- Suretyship & Security Agreements
Restraint of Trade Agreements
Credit Law
Credit Providers are heavily burdened with a diverse range of issues and need dedicated assistance in their businesses.
We have extensive and first-hand experience in this field, ranging from credit granting to debt collection and everything in between.
Our clients have a combined debtors book in excess of R 6 billion, secured by credit agreements we have drafted.
Our experience includes:
- Compliance implementation and audits
- Debt collection
- Debt review and debt counselling issues
- Drafting of contracts
- Drafting of credit documentation
- Ombud issues
- Product structuring
- Regulatory issues
- Training of personnel
- Tribunal issues
- Workshops on material issues
Financial Services Law
Financial Services Law pertains to marketing, delivering and trading in financial products, financial services, market infrastructures and payment systems.
Various pieces of legislation regulate this area of the law, like the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002, the Short Term Insurance Act 53 of 1998, the Long Term Insurance Act 52 of 1998, the National Payment System Act 78 of 1998, the Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956, the Banks Act 94 of 1990, the Mutual Banks Act 124 of 1993, the Co-operatives Bank Act 40 of 2007, the Co-operatives Act 14 of 2005, the Financial Services Board Act 97 of 1990, the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act 45 of 2002, the Financial Markets Act 19 of 2012, the Friendly Societies Act 25 of 1956, the Financial Institutions (Protection of Funds) Act 28 of 2001.
Our expertise includes:
- Compliance implementation and audits
- Drafting of contracts
- Drafting of business documentation
- Product structuring
- Regulatory issues
Labour Law
Labour issues are some of the most commonly encountered areas of conflict in modern society.
We provide employers with day to day legal advice, documentation and assistance in the following areas:
- CCMA preparation
- Contracts, policies and documentation
- Financial assistance solutions to employees
- Independent & objective chairing of disciplinary proceedings
- Labour court matters
- Over-indebtedness of employees
- Performance management
- Restructuring
Litigation
The days when you would have one lawyer to handle everything have passed. It is therefore not uncommon that attorneys sometimes encounter knowledge constraints, or even time constraints, and request our assistance with litigious matters pertaining to consumer issues, contractual issues, labour issues, credit law issues, financial law issues and corporate law issues.
Our experience includes:
- Advice on Evidence
- Case Law Research
- Declaratory Applications
- Drafting Exceptions
- Drafting Heads of Argument
- Drafting Legal Opinions
- Drafting Normal and Urgent Applications
- Drafting Particulars of Claim
- Drafting Pleadings
- Drafting Rescission Applications
- Drafting Review Applications
- Normal Applications
- Rescissions
- Reviews
Urgent Applications
