Everything you need to know.

Our Essentials package is designed for small businesses that are just starting out or operate with a relatively low volume of transactions. We handle all your tax compliance and prepare your Annual Financial Statements so your business stays fully compliant with SARS. A key distinction from our other packages — and the main reason for the price difference — is that we work from your bank statement only. We don't process individual supplier invoices at this level, which keeps things simple and cost effective for businesses that don't yet need that level of detail. We also don't manage your debtors at this level.

Our Growth package includes everything in Essentials, plus supplier invoice processing, VAT returns, and monthly transaction processing — ideal for VAT registered businesses with a higher volume of transactions.

Our Full Service package includes everything in Growth, but with daily processing, weekly management reports, and meaningful financial insights to help you actively steward and grow your business.

When we talk about bank statement processing, we simply mean that we work from what reflects on your bank account — payments in, payments out. It's clean, straightforward and works perfectly for businesses with a manageable number of transactions.

Supplier invoice processing takes things a step further. Instead of waiting for a payment to show on your bank statement, we capture and record every invoice you receive from a supplier the moment it comes in. This gives you a real-time view of what your business owes at any point — not just what's already been paid. It's more detailed, more accurate, and essential for VAT registered businesses who need to track input VAT on every invoice received.

The reason it affects pricing is simply time — processing individual invoices is significantly more work than working from a bank statement. The more suppliers you have and the higher your transaction volume, the more time it takes.

Regardless of which package you choose, every Watershed Finance accounting package includes the preparation of your Annual Financial Statements, all your tax returns, and Payroll & Secretarial services. These are the non-negotiables — every client gets full compliance as a baseline, no matter what.

Absolutely. We understand that businesses evolve and your needs today may not be your needs six months from now. You can upgrade or downgrade your package at any time — we just ask that any changes are driven by the actual needs of your business so we can make sure you're always on the right package for where you are right now.

Not at all. Our Essentials package is specifically designed for non-VAT registered businesses, so whether you're VAT registered or not, we have a package that works for you. As your business grows and you cross the VAT threshold, we'll help you through the registration process and move you onto the right package.

Every Watershed Finance package includes preparation and submission of all your tax returns — this covers Income Tax, Provisional Tax, VAT (for applicable packages), and Withholding Tax. We handle everything from calculating what you owe to submitting directly to SARS, so you never have to worry about missing a deadline or getting a penalty.

Missing a SARS deadline can result in costly penalties — something we take very seriously on behalf of our clients. We maintain a detailed database of all your tax obligations and deadlines, and we proactively remind you well in advance when action is needed. Whether it's provisional tax, VAT returns or annual income tax submissions, we make sure nothing slips through the cracks so you can focus on running your business.

As registered tax practitioners, we handle all your SARS submissions directly on your behalf. You don't need to log into eFiling, deal with SARS correspondence, or worry about whether your returns have been submitted correctly. We take care of the entire process from start to finish — calculating what's owed, submitting on time, and keeping records of everything.

We offer a full payroll service covering everything your business needs to stay compliant and keep your employees paid correctly. This includes monthly payslips, EMP201 and EMP501 submissions, UIF returns, COIDA return of earnings, leave management, payroll payment batches, employee information updates, expense claims and full Department of Labour compliance. All you need to do is send us your hours and any changes — we handle the rest.

We handle all statutory returns required to keep your business fully compliant. On the tax side this includes Income Tax, Provisional Tax, VAT and Withholding Tax submissions to SARS. On the payroll side we handle monthly EMP201 submissions, bi-annual EMP501 reconciliations, UIF returns, COIDA return of earnings and all Department of Labour compliance requirements. In short — if SARS or the Department of Labour needs it, we've got it covered.

Getting started with Watershed Finance is straightforward. We begin with a consultation call to understand your business, your current financial situation and which package best suits your needs. From there we draft and sign a service agreement so everything is clear from day one. We then get your business set up on our accounting software — we work with Xero and Sage Intacct depending on your needs. The time this takes can vary depending on the current state of your bookkeeping. If your books are up to date it's a quick process. If there's some catching up to do we'll work through it together and get everything in order before we hit our stride.

To get your account set up we'll need the following — don't worry if everything isn't perfectly in order, we'll guide you through it during your onboarding call:

• Company registration documents (CIPC)
• Tax reference number
• VAT registration number (if applicable)
• Recent bank statements (last 3–6 months)
• Previous Annual Financial Statements (if available)
• Most recent tax returns (if available)
• Any outstanding SARS correspondence
• eFiling profile access so we can act as your tax practitioner

If you're adding payroll:

• Employee details (names, ID numbers, salary structures)
• Employment contracts
• Any existing payroll records

We work with two industry leading platforms — Xero and Sage Intacct. The right choice depends on the size and complexity of your business, and we'll recommend the best fit during your onboarding call. Both platforms are cloud based, meaning your financial information is always accessible, always backed up, and always up to date. If you're already on one of these platforms, great — we'll simply plug in. If you're moving from a different system or starting from scratch, we'll get you set up and running smoothly.

Watershed Finance operates predominantly in Cape Town and Johannesburg, but we work fully remotely — meaning we can serve businesses anywhere in South Africa. Whether you're in Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth or a small town in the Karoo, as long as you have an internet connection we can handle your finances. Geography is no barrier to getting world class financial support for your business.

The best way to figure out the right fit is through a free 30-minute consultation call with us. Every business is different — your transaction volume, VAT status, number of employees and growth plans all play a role in determining which package will serve you best. Rather than guessing, let's have a conversation. We'll ask the right questions and recommend the package that makes the most sense for where your business is right now — with room to grow into as things change.

Our packages are designed to cover the vast majority of SME needs in South Africa. However, we understand that some businesses have unique requirements that don't fit neatly into a standard package. If that's you, get in touch and we'll have a conversation about what you need. Where it makes sense, we're happy to put together a custom proposal tailored specifically to your business.