New Business Owner's Guide to Starting a Business in Singapore

1. You’ll need to incorporate your business

Getting your business registered as a legal entity is the first, and arguably the most important, step in starting your business. You’ll need to incorporate your business with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), and get your company name registered. It will cost you $315 to do this.

2. You’ll need to get a business bank account

Once you’ve registered your business, you’ll need a business bank account. This will allow you to send and receive payments from your vendors and customers. If your company often transacts with overseas customers, a DBS Business Multi-currency Account might make more sense as it allows you to maintain bank balances in multiple currencies, and transact in them with lower currency conversion costs.

3. You need an accounting solution

It’s important to get your accounts in order right from the start. Aside from hiring an accountant, you can opt for an automated accounting solution which can be linked to your bank account. This provides added convenience in terms of real-time updates, account reconciliation, and helping you avoid having to set up duplicate payment requests across multiple platforms. Such platforms include Xero and Financio, which can easily be linked to any DBS business bank account through the DBS IDEAL platform.

4. You need to set up your marketing channels

Once you have all your company’s basic functions set up, you need to think about how to get the word out. If you’re a retail business, you might need a corporate website, e-commerce page, a presence on social media and more. It might be daunting to choose from the sea of service providers out there – so a good place to start could be DBS Start Digital, which lists selected trusted service providers who can help you with everything from accounting and HR to digital marketing, online transactions and cybersecurity.

5. You can get all this done, all at once

Get your business up and running by first setting up a DBS business bank account. Apply online for one today. Your company’s information should be retrievable from MyInfo Business or with your business registration number.