It’s become something that you see on almost every business’s website or in their corporate brochure – a level x BBBEE contributor, where x is a number somewhere between 1 and 8.

But what are these numbers, and why are they so important to businesses? Simply put, the higher your BEE level, the more you benefit.

Your BEE level is the result of hundreds, if not thousands of individual factors that are all taken into consideration to work out your BEE score, which can be anywhere between zero and in excess of 100.

The following table shows how BEE levels relate to scorecard points and procurement recognition:

BEE LEVEL	SCORECARD POINTS	PROCUREMENT RECOGNITION
1	100 or above	135%
2	85 to 99.99	125%
3	75 to 84.99	110%
4	65 to 74.99	100%
5	55 to 64.99	80%
6	45 to 54.99	60%
7	40 to 44.99	50%
8	30 to 39.99	10%
Noncompliant		0%

Now you’re probably wondering what the third column in the table is all about. Basically, when a potential customer of your business is in the process of choosing a supplier, their own BEE level is affected by the supplier’s level. And the higher the supplier’s level, the more the customer can claim towards their procurement spend, expressed as a percentage.

For example, if they choose a BEE level 6 company, only 60 cents out of every rand they spend will count towards their own BEE scorecard. But if they choose a BEE level 2 company, they can claim 125 cents for every rand they spend.

You can see why your BEE level is more than just a number – it has real impact on your bottom line.