Grow your business in Singapore with the support of our regional network

Now that the pieces are in place, it is time to think about growing your business.

Get your books in order

It is important to get your books in order from Day 1 so that you always know the state of your business.

Xero & Quickbooks are two popular cloud accounting solutions for businesses which seek an easy-to-use-system.

Get your books in order with Xero and Quickbooks

Understand your filing obligations

Access the "New Company Start-Up Kit" to obtain your tailored IRAS’s and ACRA’s filing timeline.

Annual Filing Due Dates

Find out your filing due dates with IRAS and ACRA

Note: If your company closes its first set of accounts in the same year as its incorporation year and do not expect to receive income / start business in the year of incorporation, please refer to the IRAS New Company Start-Up Kit for your timeline

Here’s your filing due dates with IRAS and ACRA

IRAS
e-File your Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) by:

e-File your Corporate Tax Return (Form C-S/ C) by:

ACRA
Hold your Annual General Meeting by:

File your Annual Return by:

Register for GST on time

If your annual sales turnover is more than S$1 million, you may need to register for GST. Use the IRAS GST Registration calculator to check if you are required to register.

You may apply for voluntary GST registration if your taxable turnover is below S$1 million. You can do so after completing two e-learning courses.

Register for GST

Hiring Right

To keep costs low, many business owners engage freelance service providers such as Fiverr & Upwork. It is an affordable way to get help without the commitment of hiring full-time staff.

If you are hiring staff, you must comply with MOM's payslip and employment contract requirements. Read our handy guide on hiring for your business and expert tips on employment contracts before you start.

If you are ready to start hiring, here are some useful tips:

Get ready to make CPF contributions

To register as an employer with CPF Board, you must apply for your CPF Submission Number (CSN) and CPF e-Submission.

Direct Debit for hassle-free payments

Apply for Direct Debit to make payment for CPF submission easily and efficiently.

Foreign workers hiring

To hire foreign workers, you must have CPF-paying local employees for at least 1 month. Rules and requirements also differ by industry. A Banker’s Guarantee is needed – get one here.

Mandatory levies

You also need to pay Skills Development Levy for all employees and Foreign Worker Levy.

Effective payroll management

To save time, many business owners use digital solutions to manage their payroll.

Employees’ contributions to Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and SHARE Donations

You are expected to deduct your employees’ contributions to Self-Help Groups and donations to SHARE from their wages and pay to CPF Board (collecting agent for SHGs and SHARE) together with your CPF submission.

Give your working capital a boost

Need extra funds to take on a big order or stock up ahead of seasonal demand? Businesses as young as 6 months can get up to S$100,000 in financing. Application is simple and you can get it approved online.

If you are considering to purchase your own business premises, our Commercial Property Loan offers attractive rates.

Working capital boost

Take advantage of government programmes

There are many forms of support to help SMEs grow and go global.

Want to digitalise your business? Use CTO-as-a-Service to access market-proven and cost-effective digital solutions, as well as engage digital consultants for in-depth advisory and project management services.

 

Take advantage of government programmes

Go international

Looking to expand overseas? OCBC has a strong regional network, so you can rely on us to be your trusted advisor for your new ventures.

Go international with OCBC strong regional network
Quick Guide

Save an easy-to-read copy of our business starter kit as a quick guide to starting, running and growing your business.

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