A tidy month takes a few hours. A messy year takes weeks and costs fees. Five habits keep your books ready, and the Singapore deadlines after your year end then arrive without a scramble.
Five monthly habits
– Keep business money apart. Pay business costs from the company account and personal costs from your own. Mixed payments turn into director’s loan questions at year end.
– Record every sale and cost within the week. Photograph receipts and file supplier invoices as they arrive. IRAS needs no approval for electronic records, and you do not keep paper originals if you hold the electronic copy. Keep a backup.
– Reconcile the bank by the 10th of the next month. Match each bank line to a record. Unmatched lines expose missed invoices, double payments and fraud early.
– Chase unpaid invoices on a fixed day each month. Profit on paper pays no salaries.
– Read the profit and loss statement and compare the figures to the month before. Ask about any line which moved by more than 10%.
Test your process
Your process works when last month’s profit reaches you by the 15th, no bank item stays unmatched for more than 30 days, and nobody hunts for receipts in November. If two of the three fail, the fix starts with the first habit above, not with new software.
The dates after your year end
Take a company with a 31 December 2026 year end. Its Year of Assessment is 2027.
– 31 March 2027: ECI is due, 3 months after year end. A company with annual revenue of S$5 million or less and nil ECI for the year files no ECI.
– 30 June 2027: the annual general meeting falls due, 6 months after year end. A private company drops the meeting by an all-member resolution, or by sending the financial statements to members within 5 months. The annual return still records the AGM details.
– 31 July 2027: the annual return is due, 7 months after year end. The filing fee is S$60. A return lodged late adds S$300 up to 3 months late and S$600 after this.
– 30 November 2027: Form C-S or Form C is due. Form C-S (Lite) is optional for a company with revenue of S$200,000 or below which meets all the C-S conditions.
GST follows its own calendar. For the quarter ending 31 December 2026, the return is due on 31 January 2027. With GIRO, IRAS deducts the payment on 15 February.
A company which does not file its tax return risks a composition fine of up to S$5,000, a court summons and an estimated assessment. Two or more years without filing brings a penalty of twice the assessed tax plus a fine of up to S$5,000.
Keep tax records for at least 5 years. Companies keep them for 5 years after strike off or winding up.
Put these four dates in your phone for the year, with a reminder two weeks before each. Then send your accountant the bank statements and invoices by the 10th of every month.
Send the latest profit figure or your question by WhatsApp to +65 9876 3553 or by email to henry@cschow.com.sg.
Henry Chow
Public Accountant, C S Chow & Co