Products Comparisons

Should You Outsource & Pay For Company Registration in Singapore?

Lynn Chan
February 12, 2019

*Disclaimer: All information, commentary, recommendations or statements of opinion provided in this article are for general information purposes only. We do not claim to be authoritative. Please contact ask@lendingpot.sg if you have any questions or rectification requests.

ACRA vs Online Secretariats  

Congratulations on finalizing your business idea after months of the brainstorming process. The next step now would be the incorporation of your business.

There are mainly two ways of incorporation, self-registration via ACRA or outsourcing the process to another firm. If you choose the latter, you will be spoilt for choice due to a plethora of firms offering this service.

In this article, we will be comparing the process of self-registration, as well as the outsourcing process of two firms, Osome and Sleek.

ACRA

ACRA, or the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, is Singapore’s national regulator for companies. All companies in Singapore must be registered with ACRA to commence business operations.

First and foremost, the table below serves as an overview of the self-registration process.  

Self Registration Overview
ACRA
Main Platform Used BizFile+ (ACRA's electronic filing and information retrieval system)
Steps to Incorporate a Company Submission of online application through any computer/kiosk
Cost $315 (Name Application Fee + Registration Fee)
Processing Time* 15 minutes (For applications that do not need to be referred to another agency). If applications need to be referred, the estimated processing time is 14 days to 2 months.
Disclaimer *All the information is believed to be accurate; however, no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information are made. All information, commentary, recommendations or statements of opinion provided in this article are for general information purposes only. We do not claim to be authoritative

*Processing time in this article refers to the time incurred on the part of the applicant (i.e. time spent) and not the time taken for the registration to be completed, unless otherwise stated.

Online Secretariats

For foreigners, self-registration is prohibited, and it is mandatory for individuals to hire a third-party firm for the registration process. To run a company locally, you will need an Employment Pass or Entrepreneur Pass issued by the Ministry of Manpower. The table below serves as a comparison between the outsourcing process of Osome and Sleek.

The table above illustrates that DBS, OCBC and UOB all provide an option for an online application. UOB still prefers a physical meet-up for their larger Current Accounts, while OCBC does not provide crystal-clear clarity about the eligibility of its online application.

Online Secretariat Platforms
Osome Sleek
Services included for incorporation Checking/Reservation of company name Preparation of Company's Constitution Filing with ACRA E-certificate of incorporation Preperation of compliance kit Minutes of first board meeting
Costs $350 $500
Processing Time* Fastest record 38 min (inclusive of incorporation) Less than 10 min (Filling up an online form)
Process Assemble documents (refer to checklist provided) Fill up of online forms Acknowledge documents via e-signature
Technology used Automation tools Artificial intelligence (Chatbox) Automatic document generation Status dashboard Digital mailroom
Security of platform Secure Chatbot Encryption (Using industry standard Transport Layer Security) No storage of credit card information Two-step authentication for sensitive information Firewall protection systems and network insolation Maintains geographically separated data replicas and hosting environments
Other services offered Company secretary Accounting and taxation Dormant company Sole proprietorship conversion visas (employment pass, Dependant's pass etc) Company secretary Accounting (Bookkeeping, Financial accounts, Advisory, Tax) Visas (Employment pass, Dependant's pass etc.)
Other information Osome blog N/A
Disclaimer *All the information is believed to be accurate; however, no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information are made. All information, commentary, recommendations or statements of opinion provided in this article are for general information purposes only. We do not claim to be authoritative.

*Processing time in this article refers to the time incurred on the part of the applicant (i.e. time spent) and not the time taken for the registration to be completed, unless otherwise stated.  

Conclusion: Use the online secretariats for speed and efficiency

The most valuable resource that business owners have is time. If you treasure your time, you should make use of the time to grow your business instead.

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About the author

Lynn Chan is an avid music lover, a travel buff, as well as a serial potato chips eater. She once hiked a dormant volcano in Hawaii.

SMEs
business
singapore
Outsource
CompanyRegistration
ACRA

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