How to roll out an ERP solution to Singapore

Let me tell you the good news first: An ERP rollout to Singapore is not as demanding as it might be the case for some other Asian countries. In addition to that, with some experience the required adjustments are quite good to handle – no matter whether you rely on a Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations or a SAP ERP solution. Thus, you can execute an ERP rollout to Singapore within a quite manageable project and at reasonable cost, assuming you do not have any extraordinary requirements for your rollout. The most topics that need to be considered belong to the finance area and are pretty much straightforward.

These topics are:

• The chart of accounts (GL accounts) is used to define the list of accounts required for statutory reporting to the government authorities - pretty much the same as in any other project. With regards to the Singaporean GL accounts it needs to be explored how to set up a chart of accounts adapted to the company type and standard accounting best practice.
• The cash management module (bank accounts) needs to be set-up and created as per the number of banks that are used in Singapore.
• The payment methods need to be adjusted according to the processing of both incoming and outgoing payments.
• The financial accounting components accounts receivable, accounts payable and general ledger provide comprehensive functionality which don't require much adjustments either.
• Just like in other countries you have to set up fixed assets depreciation.

However, some things are a bit more “Singapore specific”:

GST (goods and services tax return in Singapore):

In Singapore companies are asked to submit a goods and services tax return to the tax authorities. This needs to be done each quarter. The GST form (GST F5 form) is predefined and has to be customized in the system. It needs to display the name and address of the company as well as the GST registration number. The Goods and Services Tax computation covers the most important laws and business practices specific to Singapore.

Reporting:

As in any other country you want to rollout your ERP system to, there is a number of reports that need to be adjusted. These are some of the reports that might be affected:

• Finance Reports
  • Statutory reporting for profit/loss statement and balance sheet statement
  • Account statements and open item list
  • Capital allowance report according the legal standard
  • Balancing adjustment report
    
    
• HR Reports
  • Tax reporting IR8A / IR8S for tax reporting
  • Form formats and e-submission file changes
  • Director fee reporting
  • Shared accommodation / value of place of residence
  • Foreign worker’s levy (FWL)
  • Tax clearance for non-Singaporean leaving Singapore (IR21)
    
    
• HR Payroll calculation
  The calculation of the Singapore public & private payroll with CPF (central provident fund) rates calculation which is for social security in the calculation of employer and employee contribution on top of their salary is applicable to Singaporean and Singapore permanent resident.
  Some examples are:
  • Percentage of contribution for Singaporean
  • Percentage of contribution for Singapore permanent president
  • Statutory donations (CDAC/MBMF/SINDA/ECF)
  • Skills development levy (SDL)
  • Calculation of medisave subsidized outpatient (MSO) contributions for public sector employee
  • Calculation of the following leave types in payroll computation:
    Child care leave, Child care sick leave, Unpaid infant care leave, Adoption leave, Maternity leave, Paternity leave, Shared paternity leave
    
    

I saved the best news for last: In my opinion, there is no bad news concerning ERP rollouts to Singapore, at all. Whether you are solely planning a rollout to Singapore or whether this country is on the list among many others in a large rollout project, Sycor is your partner of choice. I am sure you should tackle your ERP rollout to Singapore right away -- and together with us. We will make it a straightforward project, providing your team with a feeling of success.