Top Bookkeeping Services in Singapore

If you started small, with only one or two employees, it probably made a lot of sense to handle your bookkeeping and payroll tasks in-house. You could process payments in less than 30 minutes, especially since you weren’t paying yourself yet.

But as your business grew, bookkeeping became another chore that you figured was better off left to professionals. It also became clear that your time was better off spent on growing your business rather than stressing over bookkeeping.

What’s Bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping is an organised way to record, store and retrieve the financial transactions of a company or organisation. It’s the way companies track and record details of their income and expenses using printed books and bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks.

Types of Bookkeeping

There are two main types of bookkeeping:

·     Single Entry

Single entry is the simplest of the two types of bookkeeping solutions. It’s mostly used by small, start-ups and sole traders that keep their financial records on excel type spreadsheets and printed papers. The minimal requirement for this type of bookkeeping is a cashbook, which must clearly show your income and expenses incurred over a predetermined period (say, one month or one full year).

·     Double Entry

This is the most advanced of the two types of bookkeeping, created using advanced bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks or Xero. Included in the records are cash books, loan tracking, payroll, inventory, trial balances, ledgers, journal entries, and receivables.

The Importance of Bookkeeping

Here are a few reasons bookkeeping is important:

• It helps business owners to know if they’re making profits or losing money instead.
• It helps business owners to calculate their taxes before filing their tax returns.
• The records can help a manager decide if you’re worth lending money to should you decide to sell your business
• Organised bookkeeping may help a prospective buyer reach an easy decision should you decide to sell your business

Top Bookkeeping Companies in Singapore

The Purpose of Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping serves to:

·     Record financial transactions

Identify and organise your business transactions into proper account categories. For instance, when you make a sale, that’s recorded into your income accounts, and so on.

·     Communicate financial results

After recording your financial transactions, a report of your financial transactions can be produced to communicate what happened with your business money. Examples of these reports are the balance sheet and income statement.

The Difference Between Bookkeeping and Accounting

Bookkeeping and accounting do not mean the same thing.

Whereas bookkeeping is the day-to-day recording of your financial goings, accounting is the pulling together of all the bookkeeping records and organising them into a standardised annual financial statement.

Things to Consider When Choosing Bookkeeping Services in Singapore

Here’s a list of things to keep in mind when choosing bookkeeping services in Singapore:

·     Cost-Effectiveness

You have to look at three things when it comes to cost.

What the actual cost of outsourcing the bookkeeping services?

What services do you get?

And what’s your budget?

Never settle for a bookkeeping service simple because they’re relatively cheap. The last thing you want is to skimp on this one.

·     Your Requirements

Before you go around looking for a bookkeeping company to outsource, take a look at yourself and analyse all your financial requirements. There should be something specific that you want the bookkeeping company to help you out with. Identify all the areas that you think it’s a challenging mission for you to control the financial flow.

·     Skillset

You’re not hiring someone to help you out with some simple math. You’re on the lookout for someone with a financial vision for your company. By hiring a good auditor, you can trust that they’ll help you grow in so many ways by looking after your company money.

·     Stability

One common complaint about many bookkeeping service providers in Singapore is that they’re unstable and irregular. Many of them tend to change the bookkeeping professionals that they send to their clients. Consequently, this often leads to a series of problems. For instance, after you had adjusted to working with a particular professional, being sent a new one means you have to go back to where you started and work everything out from scratch again.

·     Easy Communication

Communication can be a huge problem when working with a bookkeeping service that you found online, especially if they’re from a different country. You might experience a language barrier, communication mistranslation, mismatch time, etc. Even when working with a bookkeeping service provider from Singapore, you may find that they have different work ethics or belief system from you.

Examples of Bookkeeping Software for Small Businesses

Today, bookkeeping is done using software, not traditional systems. The most popular of these software options are QuickBooks.

·     QuickBooks

Starting Price: $8 per month

QuickBooks uses the double-entry bookkeeping system. What’s great about this software is that the user doesn’t have to well-versed in the double-entry system to be able to use this software. It’s also one of the most user-friendly software options you’ll ever come across. Primarily, it’s designed to help you minimise common bookkeeping mistakes people make all the time.

·     FreshBooks

Starting Price: $15 per month

FreshBooks is an ideal choice of bookkeeping software solution if you run a subscription-based business, where you send out recurring invoices. The software is pretty much advanced. It’s even designed to show you the exact location your customers open their invoices. With this, no customer should ever fool you with “I never got the invoice” excuse.

·     Pabbly

Starting Price: $9 per Month

Pabbly is a subscription management bookkeeping solution for small to medium-sized businesses. It’s designed to provide real-time actionable metrics and reports on your monthly revenue, payments, new subscriptions, active customers, new revenue, and active customers. It also automates customer communication, invoice creation, and business workflows so you can focus on growing your business.

·     Wave

Starting Price: Free

Waves is a great bookkeeping solution for freelancers or small businesses with small work staff. Most of the services offered are free, including transaction and invoice management. Plus, it’s easy to sync all of your business’s information with Wave’s software. Meaning, your bookkeeping will always stay updated. However, the software cannot do inventory tracking, built-in time tracking, and project management.

·     Sago 50Cloud

Starting Price: $50.58

Sago is another great bookkeeping solution for small to medium-sized businesses in Singapore. It lets you save time on administrative tasks by sending invoices, tracking payments, and expenses, as well as calculating your taxes. The only thing it doesn’t offer is a time tracking and collaborative platform, whereas for payroll, you have to get it as a separate product.

Benefits of Bookkeeping Software

·     Increase reporting accuracy

Bookkeeping software solutions supply businesses with accurate and timely financial information. Suppose you need your cashflow report in two hours or so. With some software systems, there are built-in modules that allow you to create such a report by just filling in a form or through a simple click of a button. You don’t have to spend hours creating up the report manually.

·     Speeds up accounts processing

Bookkeeping software is more efficient and quicker at processing data. The speed stems from the fact that computers are pretty fast at processing figures compared to the human brain. They’re also more accurate and less likely to make errors. Some of the processes can even be automated.

·     Provides necessary reports for accounting

Most bookkeeping software solutions allow you to supply accurate and timely financial information to your staff members. For instance, suppose one of your directors’ requests for a cashflow report two hours before a meeting that they’re set to attend. With a bookkeeping solution, that can be generated by a simple click of a button or by simply filling in the form provided.

·     Data is backed up

A bookkeeping software automatically backs up your data. And since everything will be stored in the cloud, you can be sure your data will be safe should anything happen to your physical premise or computer.

·     Reduces overall cost

The speed and efficiency associated with using bookkeeping software always lead to reduced overall costs. Using a bookkeeping solution means you’ll be able to do more in a limited amount of time. This allows you to do your bookkeeping with an even smaller team, which in the end, will see to it that your overall cost is drastically reduced.

Bookkeeping Options for Small Businesses in Singapore

Business owners do have options when it comes to bookkeeping.

·     DIY Bookkeeping

The first option is folding up your sleeves to do your own bookkeeping. This option allows you to be your own bookkeeper. It can be time-consuming and may demand that you learn about bookkeeping, but it’s an option worth considering if you’re operating on a limited budget.

·     Outsource it to Company or Firm

The second option is to hire a bookkeeper or bookkeeping firm that you can outsource the service to. This option allows you to let your bookkeeping be handled by a professional and to that effect benefit from their experience.

·     DIY Software

DIY software tries to make bookkeeping easy. They’re an option worth considering if your bookkeeping experience and knowledge are nothing to write home about. However, you have to bear in mind that a DIY bookkeeping solution won’t educate you on Singapore’s tax code, regulations, or requirements.

·     Automated Bookkeeping Solution

The last bookkeeping option is to adopt a fully automated bookkeeping service like the one we just mentioned. With this option, you have to research around for a bookkeeping solution that’s perfect for your company.

How to Become a Certified Bookkeeper in Singapore

Are you thinking of venturing into bookkeeping or doing your own bookkeeping?

Well, here are the necessary steps to take if you’re looking to become a certified public bookkeeper in Singapore:

It’s possible to become a bookkeeper with your high school education, where you’ll be learning everything on the job. But it helps to pursue further education in the field. You don’t necessarily need a university education. Most bookkeepers do pretty well with a certificate or diploma.

Which Training Should You Get?

There are plenty of tertiary education providers that you can matriculate with today. You can also sign up for an online course where you’ll be taught about the basics of bookkeeping.

·     Bookkeeping Training Institutes

The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) is one of the largest bookkeeping institutions in the world. The institution offers both certificate and diploma courses that you can enrol for today and get started. For Singapore you will want to work with the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA).

The Key Skills You’ll Need to Become a Professional Bookkeeper in Singapore

·     Attention to Detail and Numerical Accuracy

You’re being offered a job because your employer wants you to help them keep their financial records more organised and neater than they’re already are.

·     Analytical Mind

You’re considered a better bookkeeper when you can solve problems and come up with quick solutions.

·     Strong Communications Skills

You may be required to explain certain things to your employers and business owners in general. This is the only way to gain their trust and inspire confidence in you.

·     Multitasking and Good Organisation

If you’re planning to set up a bookkeeping agency, you’ll, of course, find yourself juggling more than one client at a go. There’ll be so many requests coming in and an overwhelming number of regular tasks demanding your attention

·     Strong Computer Skills

Bookkeeping has shifted. It’s no longer carried out manually, but with software and applications that you have to master and update yourself on.

What do You Need to Set Up Your Own Bookkeep Services in Singapore?

You need a combination of three things to set up a fully functional bookkeeping service in Singapore – education, certification, and experience with some of the bookkeeping tools. Also, some clients may want to dig through your portfolio and see if any business endorses you.

On top of all that, you must be genuinely driven to help other businesses succeed.

·     Bookkeeper Job Description

A bookkeeper’s job descriptions sum up a list of tasks that fit into the role of a bookkeeper.

Large businesses tend to employ more than one bookkeeper, which means these tasks may be split among them. However, a small business owner doing their own bookkeeping may be forced to handle it all themselves unless they choose to outsource it to a professional.
Some of these tasks include:

• Complete tasks in due time
• Scan documents
• Deliver bank deposits
• Access to online banking
• Maintain cheques and chequebook
• Deliver bank deposits
• Debt collection
• Collect Employees timesheets
• Liaise with tax accountants
• Maintain Inventory Account
• Maintain Account charts, and so on.