You can legally do your own bookkeeping for a Singapore company. Nothing in the Companies Act or the Income Tax Act says a Pte Ltd must hire a bookkeeper — they say the company must keep proper records, prepare financial statements, and file a corporate tax return. For a sub-S$1M, non-GST company with one or two directors, that is a very doable job. Here's the whole system.
What your books must be able to produce
- Records kept 5 years — every bank statement, invoice and receipt, organised enough to find again.
- Unaudited financial statements — P&L, balance sheet, changes in equity, cash flows and notes, with a signed directors' statement (most small companies are exempt from audit).
- A tax computation — your accounting profit adjusted into chargeable income, the IRAS way.
- Form C-S by 30 November — and ECI within 3 months of year end unless waived.
The monthly routine (about an hour)
- 1. Collect — download the month's bank statement; photograph receipts as they happen.
- 2. Categorise — every statement line gets an account: sales, rent, salaries, equipment…
- 3. Reconcile — the books' bank balance must equal the actual statement balance. If it doesn't, something is missing or doubled.
- 4. File the paper — receipts and invoices stored against the month. Future-you will be grateful.
Do this monthly and year-end becomes assembly, not archaeology. Skip it for a year and you're the "shoebox client" every firm bills extra for.
Where DIY stops making sense
- GST registration (compulsory at S$1M revenue) — quarterly returns and input-tax rules deserve a professional.
- Inventory, multi-currency at scale, or group structures — real accounting complexity.
- An audit — if you outgrow the small-company exemption, get an auditor (that's the law).
The shortcut: Bookly does steps 1–3 for you — upload the statement, it reads and categorises every line, you review, and the financial statements and IRAS-format tax computation come out ready. Try it free with 30 documents. Want to sanity-check the tax first? Use the free corporate tax calculator.
General information for Singapore private companies, not professional advice. Requirements are ACRA's and IRAS's — check current rules or ask a professional about your specific situation.