Question 1

What is SME Stack?

Accepted Answer

SME Stack is South Africa's independent buying-intelligence platform for small and medium businesses. It publishes editorial reviews, comparisons, buying guides, decision hubs, playbooks and a vetted partner directory, and runs an AI Stack Advisor that recommends a personalised software, banking, insurance and services stack.

Question 2

Who publishes SME Stack?

Accepted Answer

SME Stack is published by SME South Africa, a South African SME media and community brand.

Question 3

Is SME Stack free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. All content, comparisons, the AI Stack Advisor and My Stack are free for SME users. Revenue comes from vetted partner listings, lead generation, negotiated perks and clearly labelled sponsorships.

Question 4

Is SME Stack independent?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Editors rank products; a vendor cannot buy a leaderboard position. Commercial relationships are disclosed and kept out of editorial rankings.

Question 5

Who is SME Stack for?

Accepted Answer

South African founders, owner-operators, finance and ops managers, sole traders formalising, scaling SMEs, and the accountants, brokers and implementation partners who advise them.

Question 6

Is the content specific to South Africa?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Pricing is in ZAR, providers are South African or have a meaningful SA presence, and guidance accounts for POPIA, SARS, VAT, B-BBEE, load-shedding, in-branch banking and rural connectivity.

Question 7

How often is content updated?

Accepted Answer

Best-of lists and leaderboards are re-scored quarterly. Product pricing and ratings are reviewed on an ongoing editorial cycle; users should always confirm current pricing with the vendor.

Question 8

How do I contact SME Stack?

Accepted Answer

Use the contact and lead forms on the site — the partner directory profiles and partner enquiry forms route directly to the relevant team or partner.

Question 9

What is the AI Stack Advisor?

Accepted Answer

An eight-question tool at /ai-advisor that returns a personalised stack across banking, accounting, payroll, POS & payments, CRM, AI tools and insurance, with ZAR costs, savings, compliance flags and growth actions.

Question 10

How long does it take?

Accepted Answer

Around two minutes — eight questions, most of them single-select.

Question 11

Do I need an account?

Accepted Answer

No. You can run the Advisor anonymously. Signing in lets you save runs, revisit them at /advisor/runs, compare two runs, and sync My Stack across devices.

Question 12

How are recommendations chosen?

Accepted Answer

Each catalogue product is scored on budget fit against your stated monthly budget, editor rating, badge weight, POPIA posture, industry and stage fit, and continuity with the software you already use. The highest-scoring product per category becomes the pick, and the reasons are shown.

Question 13

Are recommendations paid placements?

Accepted Answer

No. The Advisor ranks on the scoring model above. Perks are surfaced where they apply but do not change ranking.

Question 14

Can I change a recommendation?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Add picks to My Stack and swap any item for an alternative; you can undo a swap.

Question 15

Can I share my result?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Advisor runs and My Stack can be shared as read-only links.

Question 16

What if a category has no products yet?

Accepted Answer

A curated fallback shortlist is shown, or the category is marked as still being curated.

Question 17

Are prices on SME Stack accurate?

Accepted Answer

Prices are the vendor's published SA pricing at the time of review, in ZAR unless marked in USD, and generally exclude VAT. Always confirm current pricing with the vendor before buying.

Question 18

Why are some prices in dollars?

Accepted Answer

Some global tools (for example ChatGPT Business, Claude Team, Notion AI) bill in USD. Your rand cost depends on the exchange rate and your card's forex fees.

Question 19

What does a typical SME stack cost per month?

Accepted Answer

It depends on headcount and category mix. A solo operator can run a compliant stack for well under R1 000 a month; a 10-person services business typically lands between R2 000 and R10 000 a month across banking, accounting, payroll, CRM and AI tools.

Question 20

How does SME Stack calculate potential savings?

Accepted Answer

It compares the modelled monthly cost of your recommended stack against your stated budget and against higher-cost alternatives in the same categories, and adds any applicable perk value.

Question 21

Are there free options?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Several categories have zero-fee or free-tier entries — for example FNB Business Zero and TymeBank Business at R0/month for qualifying SMEs, and Zoho Books' free tier.

Question 22

What is the partner directory?

Accepted Answer

A vetted list of advisors, accountants, banks, insurers and implementation partners who work with South African SMEs, with profiles, services, coverage and client reviews.

Question 23

How are partners vetted?

Accepted Answer

Partners are reviewed by the SME Stack team before listing, and profiles carry client reviews and, where available, a Stack Score with a confidence value.

Question 24

How do I claim my partner listing?

Accepted Answer

Submit a claim from the partner profile page; claims are tracked at /profile/claims and, once approved, unlock the partner dashboard with lead management.

Question 25

Do partners pay to be listed?

Accepted Answer

Partner listings and lead generation are commercial products. They do not affect editorial rankings or leaderboard positions.

Question 26

What are SME Perks?

Accepted Answer

Negotiated discounts and free trials for South African SMEs — for example 0% Yoco merchant fees for three months, 50% off Xero for six months, three months free SimplePay payroll, and 60 days free Sage Business Cloud.

Question 27

Do perks expire?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Offers are time-limited and subject to the provider's terms and qualifying criteria.

Question 28

Do I need an account to use the site?

Accepted Answer

No. Browsing, comparing, the Advisor and a local My Stack all work signed-out. An account adds saved runs, cloud-synced My Stack, a business profile and Fit Scores.

Question 29

What is My Stack?

Accepted Answer

Your saved shortlist of products with running monthly spend in ZAR, swap and undo, sharing and export.

Question 30

What is the Business Fit Score?

Accepted Answer

A 0-100 personalised score for a product or partner against your saved business profile, weighted across industry fit (25), stage (15), goals (15), size (10), budget (10), current stack (10), integrations (5), ease (5), growth-platform intelligence (5) and community data (5).

Question 31

What is a Stack Score?

Accepted Answer

A composite editorial and community score per product or partner, published with a component breakdown and a confidence value reflecting the evidence behind it.

Question 32

How does SME Stack handle my personal information?

Accepted Answer

In line with POPIA. The privacy notice at /privacy lists every analytics event recorded, explains when consent is requested, and lets you change your choice or delete locally stored analytics data.

Question 33

What data is tracked?

Accepted Answer

Anonymous product events (page views, CTA clicks, funnel steps), first-touch UTMs and referrer for attribution, and marketing outcome signals such as offer reveals and perk copies. Consent controls are on the privacy page.

Question 34

Can I delete my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Locally stored analytics data can be deleted from the privacy page; account data deletion can be requested through the site's contact channels.

Question 35

What is POPIA and does it apply to my business?

Accepted Answer

The Protection of Personal Information Act governs how South African businesses collect, store and use personal information. It applies to virtually every business that holds customer, employee or supplier data. Practical minimums: know what data you hold, secure it, get consent where required, appoint an information officer, and have a breach process.

Question 36

Do the tools you recommend support POPIA?

Accepted Answer

Products in the catalogue carry a POPIA posture flag. A 'Yes' means the vendor offers the contractual and technical basics South African businesses need; you remain the responsible party for how you use the tool.

Question 37

What do I need for SARS payroll compliance?

Accepted Answer

Registered PAYE/UIF/SDL, monthly EMP201 submissions, bi-annual EMP501 reconciliations and annual IRP5s. Payroll tools like SimplePay, Sage Payroll and PaySpace generate these locally and handle ETI.

Question 38

When must I register for VAT?

Accepted Answer

Compulsory registration applies once taxable turnover exceeds the SARS threshold over a 12-month period; voluntary registration is possible above the lower voluntary threshold. Confirm current thresholds with SARS or your accountant.

Question 39

Does B-BBEE matter for a small business?

Accepted Answer

Yes, especially when selling to corporates or government. Exempt Micro Enterprises and Qualifying Small Enterprises have simplified requirements, and an affidavit is often sufficient at the smallest level.

Question 40

How should load-shedding affect my software choices?

Accepted Answer

Favour cloud tools with strong offline modes, card machines with battery and mobile-data fallback, and accounting or POS systems that queue transactions and sync when connectivity returns.

Question 41

Which business bank account should a new SME open?

Accepted Answer

For digital-first businesses, a zero-fee account such as FNB Business Zero or TymeBank Business keeps costs at R0/month for qualifying SMEs. If you deposit cash or need branch service, weigh Standard Bank MyMoBiz Plus or Capitec Business for footprint and cash-handling fees.

Question 42

Xero, Sage or QuickBooks?

Accepted Answer

Xero for the largest local advisor network and app ecosystem (from about R290/month); Sage Business Cloud for the deepest built-in South African VAT and payroll ties (from about R220/month); QuickBooks Online for simple reporting at a lower entry price (from about R199/month); Zoho Books for best value inside a wider suite.

Question 43

Which card machine is best?

Accepted Answer

Yoco Khumo leads for high-volume in-person and mobile retail; iKhokha Mover and HelloPay Pro are strong alternatives. Compare the per-transaction rate, payout speed and whether the device works on mobile data.

Question 44

Which payroll platform for a small team?

Accepted Answer

SimplePay is the editor's pick for SARS-ready payroll at roughly R50 per employee per month with EMP201 export and ETI handled; Sage Payroll suits businesses that want deeper HR integration; PaySpace suits larger or multi-country payrolls.

Question 45

Do I need a CRM yet?

Accepted Answer

If more than one person touches a deal, or you lose track of follow-ups, yes. Start with a free or entry tier — HubSpot Starter, Pipedrive or Zoho CRM — and avoid buying enterprise modules you will not use.

Question 46

Which AI tools pay for themselves in an SME?

Accepted Answer

A general assistant for drafting and analysis (ChatGPT Business or Claude Team) plus AI inside the tools you already use (for example Notion AI) covers most SME use cases. Measure hours saved on writing, quoting and reporting before adding more.

Question 47

How do I fund working capital in South Africa?

Accepted Answer

Lulalend for the fastest online advance, Merchant Capital for revenue-based advances against card turnover, and Bridgement for invoice discounting and revolving credit. Compare total cost of credit, not the headline fee.

Question 48

What insurance does an SME need?

Accepted Answer

At minimum: business assets and liability cover; add professional indemnity if you give advice, cyber cover if you hold customer data, and group life or income protection as you hire. Discovery Business and Santam Business are the main SME-facing options tracked.

Question 49

How do I avoid over-buying software?

Accepted Answer

Buy for the next 12 months, not the next five years. Prefer monthly billing at first, check integration with your accounting system, count real seats, and review the stack quarterly in My Stack.

Question 50

How do I compare products?

Accepted Answer

Open /compare and select up to four products to see price, ratings, POPIA posture and features side by side. You can also compare from within a category hub.

Question 51

What is a decision hub?

Accepted Answer

A page organised around an outcome (for example acquiring customers) that lists the actions, tools and partners that deliver it, rather than a product category.

Question 52

What is a playbook?

Accepted Answer

A step-by-step implementation plan with ordered steps, owners, effort and tooling — for example a 30-day customer acquisition playbook.

Question 53

Do you have a feed for new content?

Accepted Answer

Yes: RSS at /rss.xml and JSON Feed at /feed.json, plus a full sitemap at /sitemap.xml and an AI-crawler summary at /llms.txt.

Question 54

Can I cite SME Stack content?

Accepted Answer

Yes — please cite the source page URL. Content is © SME South Africa. 12. Glossary of South African SME terms Term Meaning POPIA Protection of Personal Information Act — South Africa's data-protection law. SARS South African Revenue Service — the tax authority. PAYE Pay As You Earn — employee income tax withheld by the employer. UIF Unemployment Insurance Fund contribution, split employer/employee. SDL Skills Development Levy, payable above the SARS payroll threshold. EMP201 Monthly SARS employer declaration for PAYE, UIF and SDL. EMP501 Bi-annual employer reconciliation submitted to SARS. IRP5 Annual employee tax certificate. ETI Employment Tax Incentive — a PAYE reduction for qualifying young employees. VAT Value-Added Tax, standard-rated at 15% in South Africa. B-BBEE Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment — scorecard framework affecting procurement. EME / QSE Exempt Micro Enterprise / Qualifying Small Enterprise — simplified B-BBEE categories. CIPC Companies and Intellectual Property Commission — company registration and annual returns. Load-shedding Scheduled national power cuts; a core resilience consideration for SA tooling choices. Instant EFT Real-time bank-to-bank payment method widely used in SA e-commerce. Merchant fee Percentage taken per card transaction by the acquirer or card machine provider. Working capital Short-term unsecured funding repaid from revenue or on a fixed schedule. advance Invoice discounting Borrowing against unpaid invoices to unlock cash earlier. Stack Score SME Stack's composite editorial + community score for a product or partner. Business Fit Score 0-100 personalised match score between a business profile and a product or partner. My Stack A user's saved shortlist of tools with monthly ZAR spend.

Frequently asked questions

About SME Stack

Using the AI Stack Advisor

Pricing, costs and savings

Partners, perks and listings

Accounts, My Stack and data

South African compliance questions

Choosing tools — practical guidance

Using the website