[Question] Club Memberships

[Lauren R]

Hi Everyone

My husband would like to start a club, and has asked me to get more information with regards to registrations, banking requirements etc.
The problem is, I can't seem to find much information on the internet.
Does anyone know anything about Club Memberships and everything that is needed to start a membership club, e.g. how to register a club, banking requirements, SARS requirements etc.

I would really appreciate any help/advise with regards to this.

Thanks,
Lauren

[AndyD]

Why would you need to register the 'club' as such rather than the usual route of registering a cc or pty trading entity?

[Lauren R]

Hi Andy

A Pty is not an ideal solution, as it starts to get expensive then in terms of accounting fees etc. We would prefer something that has low operating costs that would assist in tracking expenses etc.
A CC has been considered, but once again, when we have to convert to a Pty Ltd. it becomes to expensive.

[BusFact]

No point in considering a CC as you can no longer register them. You can only register PTYs. However the cost of registering a PTY now is not much more than for the old CC. I haven't done the process yet with the new costs but a quick look at the CIPC site and it looks like it can be done for under R1000.

I also understand it as being quite low cost for annual accounting fees too, as long as certain criteria are met. These tend to involve the size of the entity and whether it is owner managed. It does not necessarily require an audit any more.

But the above is more for general info and doesn't really answer your initial question. I vaguely recall reading about club structures a while ago, but can't remember where. Perhaps look at the non profit company (NPC) options, but that would be unknown territory for me. This type of structure seems to be designed for clubs and associations.

[Dave A]

Many clubs are "organisations defined by constitution" and are not formally incorporated.

You'll need a club constitution.
You'll need to have a founding meeting, approval of the constitution by the founding members, and appointment of office bearers.

This should be sufficient to open a bank account and deal with SARS.
Apparently it doesn't work that well anymore when trying to get a new telephone account with Telkom though

When you open the bank account, it's easiest if all signatories are present. Have a copy of your constitution and relevant minutes available. Each person will have to FICA so take your ID and proof of residential address too.

SARS isn't much of a headache at all if you make sure your constiution includes satisfactory "not for gain" clauses.

Bear in mind that there will be no corporate veil protection for the office bearers if the club goes insolvent.