Tell Mercial what happened. It writes it up, files it, and reminds you before SARS does.

Varo is an AI admin assistant for small and medium South African businesses, built around one assistant called Mercial. You tell Mercial what happened by typing it, saying it, or sending a WhatsApp message or voice note. It writes it up as a proper record, keeps track of your deadlines, and reminds you before they are due. Varo is in private beta.

No. Varo is made for South African mines first, and it also works for accounting and bookkeeping practices, estate agents, dairy farms and general office admin. When you sign up, Mercial asks what your business does and sets up the screens that fit it. If your business is none of those, Mercial builds a simple admin dashboard: people to follow up, invoices waiting, documents to file and your next deadlines. Varo is in private beta.

Yes. Tell Mercial your milk in litres and the diesel you use, by typing, speaking or on WhatsApp. They go into your Daily log, and diesel moves your Stock count. Herd size and a usual milk day come from setup, and your dashboard shows milk, herd, diesel and feed on hand, and your next deadlines. Farm dates such as UIF and COIDA are dates you enter yourself, and Varo reminds you. It does not read milk meters or tank gauges, work out your diesel refund, or file anything for you.

Only with the record. SARS expects farmers who claim the diesel refund to keep records of the diesel they used. Varo keeps the litres you tell it, by date, so you are not rebuilding them from memory. It does not work out a refund, submit a claim or tell you whether you qualify. Ask SARS or your accountant about that.

Yes. Tell Mercial what the business does and, if it is none of the other kinds, you get a simple dashboard: To follow up, Invoices waiting, Documents to file and Next deadlines. You add invoices and people on their own screens, and Mercial drafts a follow-up that a person reads and sends, so nothing reaches your customers without approval. Deadlines are dates you enter, and Varo reminds you.

Tell Mercial when diesel is used, for example "used 800 litres of diesel", by typing, speaking or on WhatsApp. Mercial logs it against your diesel record and your stock count, and your dashboard shows what was used this week and what is on hand. Varo records what you tell it. It does not read a fuel meter, and if nothing has been logged yet it says so instead of showing a made-up zero. Diesel and tonnes tracking in more detail →

Yes. Send Mercial a message such as "340 t today", typed or as a voice note. Your dashboard shows tonnes today, tonnes this week and your average per producing day. A supervisor can be added with just a name and a WhatsApp number, and installs nothing.

Varo has the common mining deadlines built in as types you can pick: mining right renewal, the SLP annual report and five-year review, risk assessment reviews, DMPR returns, MHSA returns, royalty returns, water use licences, environmental authorisations, permit and contractor document expiries, and the Mining Charter scorecard. You enter the date and Varo reminds you before it is due. Varo only works out a date itself when it can point to an official source. Today that is the royalty returns, from SARS's own guides. For everything else the date comes from your own records. The DMPR is the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, the mining part of what used to be the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. Mining compliance deadlines in more detail →

SARS's guide says the first provisional royalty return is due six months after the start of the year of assessment, the second provisional return twelve months after the start, and the final return twelve months after the year ends. Tell Varo the month your financial year ends and it works out these dates and reminds you. Check them against SARS's guide or with your accountant. Varo reminds and prepares, and you file.

Yes. You message Mercial on WhatsApp, as text or a voice note, and it answers in the same chat. What you send is logged to your workspace and attributed to you. You can add a supervisor by their WhatsApp number, and they do not need to install anything or sign up for anything.

Not yet. Phone calls to Mercial are not switched on in the beta. You can use the web app, by typing or by voice, and WhatsApp, by text or voice note.

No. Mercial drafts the follow-up, and a person reads it and sends it. Nothing is emailed or sent over WhatsApp to your customers without someone approving it first. That is a deliberate design decision, not a limitation of the beta.

Varo is the responsible party under POPIA and publishes a privacy policy. Each business's data is kept separate from every other business's, uploaded documents are stored on Varo's own infrastructure, and Varo does not sell personal information. Using your data to improve the AI is a separate choice that is off by default. From Settings you can download everything held about you, or close your account and have your personal information deleted. Some of the services that help Mercial reply run outside South Africa, and the privacy policy says which.

No. Mercial is an assistant. It keeps track, reminds you and writes things up, but it does not give professional advice, and you remain responsible for what you file.

Pricing is not finalised yet. Varo is in a private beta and access is by invite code or referral code.

Varo is in private beta, so you need an invite code or a referral code to sign up. You can request beta access from this page, or get a referral code at varotech.org/referral.