Category: Business Path

Registering your company is essentially obtaining the legal right to do business within your chosen area of jurisdiction, and also ensures that the business or company is operating in accordance with its own legal policies.
The process is often perceived in two ways: either the company owner/s apply for company registration too early, before there is a solid model on how the business should achieve its goals, or too late, when the business is already being held liable.

That being said, there are still many reasons why pursuing company registration is not only viable, but crucial.

Security and Legal Benefits
The first and most obvious reason why you should pursue company registration is protection and professionalism. In particular, applying for a sg business firm registration makes it so that you and your employees, are to some extent, protected under the law.

Another is that it avoids confusion among businesses that are already registered (as well as preventing others from using the name of your business), which could end up in a lawsuit that may or may not turn out in your favor.

Starting a business may have been your lifelong dream, but some of the dangers that go along with pursuing your plans to register your company is the possibility of losing all your personal assets due to liabilities or financial losses. Registering will ensure that your assets and liabilities are separate.

Other legal benefits of registering your company include the following:

• Transferable ownership – One of the benefits that can be gained by opting to register company in Singapore for foreigner enterprises is that the ownership is transferable, especially in incorporated businesses, and this transfer can either be in whole or in part.

• Durability – Depending on the company’s structure, the effects of extended absence (or even the death) of shareholders, co-owners, and officers can be weathered through without compromising the company as a whole.

It also tells your clients and partners that you and your company are willing to engage in business in the long term instead of being a fly-by-night kind of business owner who closes shop once he/she encounters difficult times.

• Credit rating – Because of its nature, a business can have the same legal status as a person, complete with its own separate credit rating and credit history. This in turn places the company it a positive light for future investors if it is seen as a reliable creditor.

Building up a business’s credit portfolio does take time, but the key to doing so is management – even certain types of debt that may appear to be negative can actually be positive for investors.

On Hiring Employees
Skilled employees will tend to want to look for a stable job under a company that they know can provide them with a steady source of income and isn’t likely to fold after six months or within the next year due to any liabilities or unforeseen financial problems, all of which are things that a registered business can provide for both you and your employees.

While you can hire freelancers to help fill in the gaps in your workforce, being able to hire at least the minimum number of people needed to keep your business running means that you need to register company (on helpful websites such as www.sgbusiness.sg) to meet this purpose, as it isn’t possible to hire employees legally when your business isn’t registered.

Swaying Investors
Investors are attracted to one thing in particular: stability. This is perhaps the biggest thing that company registration can provide for them, as they know that their investment is safe and will return to them in the near, foreseeable future.

The simplest reason for this is because investors that looking to invest in your company actually need to know that you have a registered business in the first place, which is only possible if you have applied for company registration.
Private equity is also another reason why many opt to register company in Singapore, as you want your investors to feel comfortable in having an exit strategy as well as the protection provided by company incorporation.

Company Incorporation
From a legal perspective, business owners looking to company incorporation as a means to expand their enterprise, whether in Singapore or abroad, will find that the only way to do so is by making sure that the assets that they already have are secured in the first place.

This is especially true if the starting business works on the principle of an open company, and would even make it easier for the business to be able to register, as an open company already emphasizes on transparent record-keeping and communication due to its nature.

Conclusion
Company registration is important, especially when it comes to company incorporation, as it delineates your personal assets from your company assets and gives the assertion that the company belongs to you and cannot be simply seized or absorbed into another.

Taking the time to register company might be seen as downtime on your part, but the result will grant you and your employees certain legal protection. Leaving out the company registration process to prioritize income generation can make it difficult to even start hiring employees. This, in turn, results in a lot of bureaucratic hassle and paperwork.
The best time to apply for the registration process is immediately once you are ready to begin operations and open your doors to customers/clients – the paperwork should have the same priority as the equipment, personnel, and location.

Accounting Standards in Singapore are made up of a set of principles and guidelines that govern various financial transactions of every company in the country. The Accounting Standards Council or ASC, under the Accounting Act, has prescribed the standards for financing to be used by all business entities.

Accounting Standard Council

In prescribing Financial Reporting Standards or FRS, the ASC implements a proper and official process to guarantee that the standards of financing are consistently of high quality. The ASC also works hand in hand with the Accounting Standards Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore or the ICPAS’ ASC.

International Accounting Standards Board

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which is based in London, United Kingdom, is the one that organized the International Accounting Standards (IAS) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This is where the country and even online accounting services in Singapore like Smart Acc has closely patterned its financial records standards. Presently, our country’s bookkeeping fundamentals and accounting services online are now arranged in the Companies Act. These are known as the Financial Reporting Standards (FRS).

Accrual-based Accounting

One of the key principals of Singapore’s bookkeeping is accrual-based. Accrual-based accounting answers the desire for more accuracy of financial information and the need to organize complex business transactions. This is considered as a standard accounting practice for companies, with the exemption of very small businesses. With this method, there becomes a more precise picture of a company’s present condition. However, because it is complex, it is expensive to implement this. In accrual-based bookkeeping, revenues are recorded when earned, and costs are recorded when incurred, with or without the presence of cash.

The opposite of accrual-based accounting is cash accounting, which is one of the many functions of http://www.smartacc.com.sg/ in Singapore and is easier to record as it accounts transactions only if there is an exchange of cash between the company and the customer. However, in Singapore’s bookkeeping standards, accrual-based accounting is more commonly used than the other one. All accounting services for small business and even larger establishments are patterned in accrual-based records.

Details on Financial Reporting Standards

In Singapore, a complete set of financial statements includes the following: statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity, a balance sheet, cash flow statement, and summary of accounting policies. Except for Statement of Cash Flow, companies must base their financial statements on accrual accounting. Also in preparing financial statements, the management of the company must assess the company’s ability to continue its operations.

Freight forwarding companies are very good at transporting goods in and out of Singapore in the most compliant way possible, but did you know they offer more than just convenient transport of goods? Here are nine things your freight forwarder here in Singapore can help you run your e-commerce business more profitably.

1. Ensure Compliance

International freight is complicated. You need to adhere to various laws and regulations of overseas countries, which you are not very familiar with. Otherwise, your goods will be put on hold or pay hefty fines before your shipment will be released. Ensuring compliance to rules and regulations is the most critical part of international freight, so it’s just practical to partner with a reliable logistics company.

2. Allow You to Focus at Work

Whether you own a large or small e-commerce business, chances are you are already a busy person; and handling product shipment yourself might just not be feasible. If you work with a shipping company, they have designated staffs to take care of logistics services. Since they have extensive experience, companies like freight master in Singapore have mastered the ins and outs of both air freight and sea freight, and have already developed a system to ensure legal compliance. Working with the right company will save you money and time, which means you can focus more on increasing your sales and improving your supply chain.

3. Understand Duty Rates

If you are selling different products and want to start offering new items, keep in mind that each type of product may be taxed differently. Some goods need further approval for shipping before they get cleared by customs. Not to mention that even some goods in the same category have significantly different tax rates. One example is footwear. Different types of footwear have different duties. You may be surprised to see tariffs at nearly 70 percent! By working with a freight forwarder, you can leverage your knowledge on duty rates to maximize savings.

4. Save Money from Shipping Costs

Alongside the savings you get from duty rates, freight forwarders can negotiate lower rates with shipping carriers due to the high volume of goods they transport regularly. But it is also important to consider the long-term benefits you get from excellent customer service and working with a shipping company that genuinely wants to help grow your business. While hiring a great company as your partner may require you to spend a little bit more, think of the financial benefits it can bring to your company in the long run.

5. Flexibility In Dealing with Emergency Situations

A seasoned shipping company offers flexibility and versatility, which come really helpful for meeting deadlines of shipments and handling unforeseen circumstances. An experienced freight forwarding services company has the right resources to handle unfortunate situations like delays and rerouted shipments. Imagine you are shipping goods to US, Europe and China, and one of them is rerouted to another country because of stormy weather? If you handle the transportation of goods yourself, how would you react to this problem? To an experienced Singapore http://www.freightmaster.sg/ shipping company, this is just a little hiccup they commonly encounter at work.

6. Less Hassle for You to Learn Terminologies

You know how different industries have their own language? Logistics services are no different to this—FCL, LCL ISF, FOB and TSA sound more like computer codes to uninitiated. Although you can learn the language over time, it might be a waste of resources as you’re making your way to expert level. An experienced logistics company already is an expert of this lingo and can translate everything for you if needed. So, the next time your supplier messages you with a bunch of jargon you just don’t understand, you have a partner to lean on.

7. Convenient Tracking Tools

Since you are an e-commerce, you want to have the tool or feature that allows you and your customers to track shipments. You want a system that monitors where your goods are in the importing/exporting process and when to expect the arrival of the items. With a freight forwarder, you are provided with a tracking number, which you will use to know the location of your shipment and its expected time of arrival (ETA). Whether it is sea freight, air freight or local freight, your logistics company will be able to provide you with accurate details of the status of your shipment.

8. They Can Do Blind Shipments for You

A blind shipment is the transportation of goods with one or more parties involved in the shipping unaware of each other’s identity. Product distributors usually request for blind shipments if they want the supplier to directly ship the goods to the customer without revealing either one’s identity. To maintain the anonymity, shipping with a logistics company is your best option.

9. Help Make Informed Decisions

There are some risks with shipping of goods. While some situations cannot be prevented, such as rough sea and bad weather, some can be managed easily. Significant events like Chinese New Year can disrupt transportation of goods to and from Singapore and other Asian countries. Also, peak seasons cause additional shipping costs, so it is important to work closely with your logistics partner. Your freight forwarder knows very well how to handle these scenarios and help you come up with the best solution possible.

In general, freight forwarders offer so many benefits to any kind of business, but most especially to e-commerce. They serve as the most efficient way to transport larger amounts of products at a more affordable price and reliable manner.

*This list is compiled in no particular order.*

Finding the most suited person to manage your property is crucial if you want your investments to be successful in the long run.  Not only should that person be efficient at doing property management related duties but he or she should also be someone whom you can trust confidently, especially if you are willingly leaving your properties to this person’s care.

Managing your investments could go either bad or good, and common wisdom would say we all would like for the latter to happen. Tapping outside help by having someone manage your properties is a big decision to make in itself hence it is ideal for you to conduct a personal research first before choosing one. Keep in mind you’d want nothing but the best for your properties. A little bit of homework won’t be too stressful!

You would want to look for an ideal managing agent with notable qualities such as excellent organization skills, honesty, and ample experience. But before you could proclaim you’ve found the ‘right’ one to manage your properties, you have to immerse yourself first through the selection process to sift through the roster of Singapore property managers.

Get referrals

Word-of-mouth recommendations still matter in the advent of technology and online blog posts. You are likely to find one of the best property management in Singapore through personal recommendations from people you know; a loved one, a friend, or a co-worker. Conversing with real estate agents and other property owners around may also lead you to some great options.

Enlisting the names of their condo manager or the property management companies they are currently under is ideal. Take note of the factors that they have been happy with, as well as the problems and inconveniences they’ve encountered. This will grant you a glimpse of what you can expect from their services.

Referrals can get biased, though, which is why it is important to get plenty of referrals from various sources. If you can see similarities between what have been said about a certain manager or company, may it be of positive or negative light, chances are it is true.

Do an online search

We live in a modern age where a single click in the search engine can yield hundreds and thousands of search results. This makes research a whole lot easier, especially when you’re narrowing down your choices of potential hires for estate maintenance. There are a number of websites to cater your searching needs like AllPropertyManagement and T-Rex Global which generates a list of property managers and companies available in the area.

Reviews contributed by other people are also beneficial to read on. This would save your time before you proceed with personally interviewing a managing agent at your discretion. See what kind of rating the manager or the company got at an average, and research whether there have been any complaints filed against them.

Check their current work

You can get great information by checking out the actual properties a specific manager or property management company handles. Observe if the properties are clean and well-tended after, because they are likely to care for your properties the same way.  It is encouraged as well to get the opinion of tenants to offer a personal perspective on the way the property is being managed.

Some of the questions you could ask them are as follows, are the complaints and maintenance repairs addressed? Is the building cleaned on a regular basis? How long does it typically take for the manager to fix certain issues? These are only some of the questions you can ask to find out if current tenants are satisfied with the performance of the estate maintenance.

Review their license and other certification

A managing agent typically holds a property management license similar to that of a real estate broker’s in order to show someone around vacant apartments. Trade organizations certify certain managers and companies who have completed a tough training program. Certain courses are offered in order to educate a condo manager in regards to what he or she needs to know about property management, as the broad field covers a lot of aspects.

However, just because a manager has paid to get certificates of completion does not instantly mean they are putting into practice everything they have learned. You also need to learn how to look at the whole picture first before choosing a property manager.

Interview several managers

Screening potential property manager hires will offer you room for comparison, especially in order to find a specific one you are most comfortable with in trusting your properties. By conducting interviews with several prospective agents, you are likely to separate the good from the bad. You will be able to point out those with real knowledge and deliberate planning skills from those without.

Candidates who are receptive to your questions during the interview process are ideal hires. Those who are keen on putting their best foot forward during the interview are likely to impress if you give them a chance to prove themselves in tending after your property.

There is no shortcut when it comes to landing the best estate manager in the area. You have to immerse yourself in the whole deliberation process if you want to leave your properties in good hands, and most of the time that requires a lot of effort, patience, as well as time on your part. All of your efforts won’t be in vain, especially not when a good property manager is the key you need to allow your properties to prosper.

Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP is a communication technology which allows users to receive and make calls via a stable internet connection. This is different compared to the conventional phone system, which utilizes the Public Switched Telephone Network or the PSTN. This new form of communication system has revolutionized the way we make our calls — and if anything, it provided a number of benefits on behalf of business owners.

For one, it relies mainly on a high-speed internet connection to function. It converts sound into digital voice data and transmits it through the internet back and forth. Years ago, we wouldn’t have thought of using the internet to receive and create phone calls, but here we are in the dawn of technological advancements reaping off the many benefits to our advantage.

With that said, there are other reasons as to why businesses switch to using VoIP Singapore technology to fulfill their company’s communication needs. For instance, more and more enterprises are adapting a pbx phone system which is powered by a hosted VoIP system because it is far more practical and convenient to manage. Various studies have also shown how the system can increase work productivity many times over, hence it is not a surprise to know a lot of businesses are leaning onto making the switch.

Easy installation and maintenance

The thing about a VoIP system is that it is very easy to install, and even if you lack enough technical expertise you can still set it up and get it running. In comparison with installing your traditional telephone line, you will be pleasantly surprised to know how easy the installation process for Singapore cloud voip can get. You do not need to stress yourself over finding a technical specialist to install the system, for instance, when your company is eyeing to install a VoIP-based IP PBX telephone system.

There is also no need to install additional hardware as long as you have a reliable internet connection. The scalability of this kind of system is also incredible since a VoIP system can be either scaled up or down with a simple upgrade package. Businesses in Singapore will also enjoy its low-maintenance benefits since it makes a perfect option for any enterprise.

Multi-functional features

In comparison with the traditional landline, a cloud VoIP system can be integrated with a number of features which can help you communicate with your clients or your personnel more smoothly. For example, you can conduct a video conference through your VoIP phone — allowing you to be in touch with your customers and colleagues to discuss important agendas, deals, and meetings regardless of where you are.

Even when you are outside Singapore attending an important conference related to your work, you still possess the capacity to attend other important meetings through a video calling conference without worrying about being physically present. In this digital modern world we live in, this has become the norm in various business settings.

Flexibility

If your company runs on an IP PBX telephone system to cater to its communication needs, the system becomes flexible in adapting to a number of situations. For instance, you can still use your traditional phone along with a VoIP phone adapter or converter since the system itself is powered by VoIP. A converter takes form in the likes of a USB memory stick, hence you can easily plug it onto any computer unit. This can sense signals emanated by other phones, which is then converted into digital data and transmitted over the internet.

A VoIP Singapore system or a hosted pabx will give you your own VoIP number, so wherever you are headed to you can still receive phone calls to the same number as long as you have a stable and high-speed internet connection.

Reduced operating costs

A cloud VoIP based phone system is notably much cheaper to maintain and manage in comparison with using a conventional phone which runs on the Public Switched Telephone Network or the PSTN. You wouldn’t have to worry about the bill on long distance calls, especially when your VoIP provider has fixed cheaper prices to your advantage. A lot of service bundles are offered by companies to cater to the customers efficiently.

Landlines in Singapore offer fewer advantages compared to a phone line powered by VoIP. They also cost so much more, hence many companies are making the move away from traditional landlines.

Portability

You don’t have to worry about carrying tremendous routers and placing wires all over your office when it comes to VoIP. When hosting a pbx phone system which is powered by VoIP in your business, it provides convenience and comfort in carrying out the company’s work processes. As long as you have a stable broadband connection, you can access your VoIP phone and receive a dial tone regardless of wherever you are in the world.

There also won’t be any problems relating to connections and operating costs so long as you have access to the internet. To make things more convenient, you can also access your VoIP system or hosted pabx through email or while you are currently traveling. You can still contact clients or personnel via a low-cost call if you bring along your headset or IP phone with you.

VoIP Singapore technology has revolutionized the way we make and receive our calls. Gone were the days we solely relied on standard telephone lines to handle and manage our communication needs. We now live in the dawn of technological advancement where we can use the help of the internet to cut the costs of calls even if they are made overseas. A lot of benefits are attributed with using a VoIP phone system, hence more and more companies are making the switch to this technology to fulfill their communication needs.