Silica Accounts Lite — Licence Terms and Disclaimer

Please read these terms carefully. By registering for, installing or using Silica Accounts Lite you agree to them.

Version: 1.0  ·  Effective date: 28 September 2026

In plain language:

Silica Accounts Lite is free, provided “as is”, with no warranty and no included support. You are solely responsible for your books, VAT, SARS submissions, backups and for checking every figure the software produces. It is licensed only to the CIPC-registered company named on your key: one company, one user, one PC. It cannot be upgraded to Silica Accounts.

1. Who we are

Silica Accounts Lite (“the Software”) is licensed by Silica Valley Computers CC, registration number 2008/060849/43, trading as Silica Office (“Silica Office”, “we”, “us”), Unit C1 PEG Centre, Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Email [email protected], phone 035 789 0565.

“You” means the company registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) whose name and registration number appear on the licence key, and any person using the Software on its behalf.

2. Registration and eligibility

  1. The Software is only licensed to companies registered with CIPC. A licence key is issued only after Silica Office has verified the company name and registration number.
  2. The person registering confirms that they are a director of the company or are authorised by it to accept these terms on its behalf, and that all information supplied is true and complete.
  3. One free licence is issued per registered company. Silica Office may decline any registration at its discretion and does not have to give reasons.
  4. A licence obtained using false, incomplete or someone else’s company details is void from the start.

3. Licence granted

  1. Silica Office grants you a free, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable and revocable licence to install and use the Software for the internal bookkeeping of the registered company named on the licence key only.
  2. The licence covers one company, one user and one Windows PC, Back Office functions only. It does not include a point-of-sale till, workshop, payroll, additional companies, additional users or network / multi-PC use.
  3. The Software is licensed, not sold. Silica Office keeps all ownership, copyright and other intellectual property rights in the Software, its documentation and the licence keys.

4. What you may not do

5. No upgrade and no migration

  1. Silica Accounts Lite is a separate product. It is not a trial, demo or limited version of Silica Accounts, and there is no upgrade path from Lite to Silica Accounts.
  2. Silica Office does not convert, migrate or transfer Lite books, ledgers, balances or history to Silica Accounts or any other product.
  3. If you later buy Silica Accounts, only product, customer and supplier master lists can be imported from Lite export files. Your accounting records must be started afresh, with opening balances determined by you or your accountant.
  4. If your business may need a till, more users, more companies or other Silica Accounts features, you should not start on Lite.

6. Your responsibilities

  1. Books and tax. You alone are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of your accounting records, for VAT, income tax and all other returns, and for submitting them to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) correctly and on time. VAT201 workings produced by the Software are an aid only; you must check them before filing on SARS eFiling.
  2. Checking results. You must review and verify all figures, reports, statements, invoices and VAT calculations before relying on or issuing them.
  3. Records. You must keep your records for the periods required by law, including the Tax Administration Act and the Companies Act, in a form you can produce to SARS or an auditor.
  4. Backups. You must make regular backups and keep copies away from the PC. Silica Office has no access to, and keeps no copy of, your data.
  5. Your PC. You are responsible for installing Microsoft SQL Server LocalDB, keeping Windows and your antivirus up to date, and securing the PC and your passwords.
  6. Professional advice. Use a registered accountant or tax practitioner for accounting, tax and legal decisions.

7. No professional advice

The Software, its help file, this website and any communication from Silica Office are general information only and are not accounting, tax, legal or financial advice.

8. Disclaimer of warranties

The Software is provided free of charge, “as is” and “as available”, with all faults. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Silica Office gives no warranty, representation or guarantee of any kind, express, implied or tacit, including any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, compliance with tax or other legislation, uninterrupted or error-free operation, compatibility, or freedom from viruses or defects.

Tax rates, SARS requirements and legislation change. Silica Office does not warrant that the Software reflects the current law at any time.

9. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Silica Office, its members, employees and agents will not be liable to you or anyone else for any loss or damage of any kind arising from or connected with the Software, its installation, use or inability to use it, or these terms, however caused, including through negligence.

This includes, without limitation: loss of data; loss of profit, revenue or business; SARS or other penalties, interest, additional tax or assessments; costs of correcting records or returns; and any indirect, special or consequential loss — even if Silica Office was told such loss was possible.

Where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, Silica Office’s total liability is limited to R100 (one hundred rand).

10. Indemnity

You indemnify Silica Office against any claim, loss, penalty, cost or expense (including reasonable legal costs) arising from your use of the Software, your records or tax affairs, your breach of these terms, or any false registration information.

11. Support and updates

  1. No support, maintenance or response time is included with the free licence. The program has a built-in help file.
  2. Silica Office may, but does not have to, provide updates or fixes. Updates may be subject to these or updated terms.
  3. Any assistance Silica Office agrees to give is by arrangement, may be charged at its normal rates, and does not create any ongoing support obligation.

12. Third-party software

The Software needs Microsoft SQL Server LocalDB and Microsoft Windows, which are licensed to you directly by Microsoft under Microsoft’s own terms. Silica Office gives no warranty for third-party software.

13. Personal information

The accounting data you capture stays on your PC; Silica Office does not receive it. The registration details you give us (company name, CIPC number, contact name, email, phone and related details) are used to verify your company, issue and manage your licence and contact you about it, as described in our privacy policy. You are responsible, as responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act, for personal information of your customers, suppliers and staff that you capture in the Software.

14. Suspension and termination

  1. This licence ends automatically if you breach these terms, if the registration information was false, or if the company is deregistered or placed in liquidation.
  2. Silica Office may withdraw the free licence or discontinue the Software at any time on reasonable notice by email or on this website, or immediately for breach.
  3. When the licence ends you must stop using the Software and delete it. Keep your own backups and exported reports so that you still have your records.

15. Consumer law

The Software is intended for businesses. Nothing in these terms limits any right that cannot lawfully be excluded under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, where those Acts apply. Any such term applies only to the extent the law permits.

16. General

  1. These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa, and the South African courts have jurisdiction.
  2. If any part of these terms is found invalid, the rest remains in force.
  3. These terms, the licence key and the privacy policy are the whole agreement about the free licence. No other statement, advert or discussion forms part of it.
  4. A delay or relaxation by Silica Office in enforcing any term is not a waiver of its rights.
  5. Silica Office may update these terms. The version and date at the top of this page show which terms apply; continued use after an update means you accept it.
  6. Notices to Silica Office must be sent to [email protected]. Notices to you are sent to the email address used to register.