How To Register a Company in Singapore in 2024

This also ensures no individuals are personally liable for any debts incurred. To register your business, you may complete an online application via the BizFile+ website. To fill up the application, you are required to provide information such as your SingPass login credentials, your business entity information, business activity, and business address. A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) serves as a business structure in Singapore, providing owners with the flexibility of a partnership combined with a separate legal identity similar to a private limited company. Some examples could be a person who runs a small convenience store in front of his or her house, an individual providing services like a freelancer, or even an artisan. Note that a sole proprietorship is not a separate legal entity from its individual owners, even if it is licensed and registered as a business or similar legal entity.

Deciding Your Business Structure

It is therefore critical that you have in place a well-drafted employment contract that clearly sets out these obligations. Additionally, a general obligation when hiring employees is that you generally owe your employees a duty of trust and confidence. This duty entails not engaging in conduct that undermines the employer-employee relationship.

1. Your taxable or chargeable income is calculated by adding up your exemptions, incentives, and deductions and then subtracting the total from your income.
2. Before registering your business with ACRA, you need to register your business name.
3. If you are a foreign entrepreneur residing in Singapore and wish to start and operate a business here, you can apply for an Entrepreneur Pass (EntrePass) from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
4. Depending on the type of business and business structure, it usually takes 1 working day.
5. Ultimately, there are different pros and cons with each business structure, and this decision is largely dependent on your objectives.

Separately, should you wish to hire foreign workers for your business, you must also obtain work permits for these employees. The permits required for the foreign workers you intend to hire are dependent on the skill level of your workers. For instance, a skilled worker who earns at least $3000 a month requires an “S” pass, whereas other workers may only require a normal work pass. In that respect, do refer to this detailed step-by-step guide for hiring employees in Singapore. Alternatively, you should approach an employment lawyer for further advice. Depending on the type of business and business structure, it usually takes 1 working day.

Debt interest, however, is payable irrespective of whether the business is profitable. Certain businesses may require various licences or permits to operate in Singapore. There are many regulatory requirements surrounding many different industries. For instance, if you are looking to start an F&B business, you would normally require a Food Shop single step vs multi step income statement Licence, as well as a Liquor Licence should you wish to serve alcohol to your customers.

Considerations Before Registering a Business in Singapore

If your partners and you wish to limit your liabilities by not being personally liable for the partnership’s debts, then a LLP may be ideal. Similarly, if you carry what is remote bookkeeping on business with one or more other individuals, you would be exempted from registration if the name of the firm is the full name of all the individuals. If you intend to carry on your business as an individual under only your full name, you are exempted from registration. You may wish to refer to our other article for a more detailed overview of the obligations an employer owes an employee at law.

Choosing a business name

This means there is unlimited liability to taxes and starting your own bookkeeping business debts from the business and the individual who runs it. Note that there are different registration requirements for different business structures. For instance, sole proprietorships do not require any documents that detail any agreement between its members. In contrast, partnership agreements and company constitutions are required for registering a partnership and a company respectively. For instance, while a company is legally required to hire a company secretary within 6 months of incorporation, this requirement is not present for other company structures.

When the company is incorporated, Company Secretary can be left blank initially. However, the Company Secretary must be appointed within 6 months of incorporation. A sole proprietorship or general partnership is Singapore’s most basic form of business structure. Simply put, a single individual providing or doing activities can register himself or herself as the owner to become a formal business.

For instance, an unregistered blogshop owner being owed money by a client may find himself without legal remedies to reclaim the payment as their contract with the client cannot be enforced. Another consequence of failing to register is that any contractual rights may be unenforceable by an unregistered business owner. The Home Office Scheme allows homeowners, registered occupants, or tenants of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats to operate small-scale offices in their homes, subject to the prevailing conditions of use.