ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING SERVICES IN SINGAPORE

Understanding the company’s fundamental accounts is required for effective bookkeeping. The chart of accounts for the company is made up of these accounts and their sub-accounts. The accounts that comprise a company’s balance sheet are assets, liabilities, and equity.

Assets

Assets are the company’s assets, such as inventory and accounts receivable. Fixed assets, often plant, equipment, and land, are also included in the definition of assets. When you look at the arrangement of a balance sheet, you’ll notice that the asset accounts are displayed in the order of their liquidity. Since cash is fully liquid, asset accounts begin with it.

Following the cash, accounts are the accounts for inventories, receivables, and fixed assets. These are tangible assets, and you can touch them. Intangible assets, such as customer goodwill, may also be included on a company’s balance sheet.

Liabilities

Liabilities are what the company owes to its suppliers, bank and business loans, mortgages, and any other debt on the records. A balance sheet’s liability accounts comprise both current and long-term liabilities.

Accounts payable and accruals are common examples of current liabilities. Accounts payable often refer to what the company owes to its suppliers, credit cards, and bank loans.

Equity

The investment that a business owner and any other investors have in the company is referred to as equity. The equity accounts comprise all of the owners’ claims against the company.

The business owner has made an investment, which may be the company’s lone investment. If the business has taken on more investors, this is shown here.

You must balance your bookkeeping records at the end of the year. The bookkeeper must maintain close track of these elements and ensure that transactions involving assets, liabilities, and equity are recorded appropriately and in the correct place. You may use a simple formula to ensure that your books are always balanced, which is called the accounting equation. The formula is as follows. 

Assets=Liabilities + Equity

The accounting equation states that whatever a company has (assets) is weighed against claims made against the company (liabilities and equity). Liabilities are demands for money owed to suppliers and lenders. The remaining assets are subject to claims by the owners of the business (equity).

An accurate, well-kept set of books is a good place to start when it comes to running a profitable business. Below are the reasons why – 

• You can ensure that you are earning more money than you are spending.
• You will have accurate financial data for planning and budgeting purposes.
• You can predict and avoid a cash crisis by keeping track of when you need to pay suppliers and when you might expect payment from consumers.
• You are more likely to discover improper payments (or even fraud) that might cost you money.
• You are capable of completing accurate tax returns.
• Having your financial information organized makes it easy to collaborate with others, such as lenders, investors, and accountants.

Recording and reconciliation are the two most crucial duties in proper small company bookkeeping. Further explanations of the recording and reconciliation process are as follows.

Recording every transaction

• Keep records of your sales. Traditionally, this was accomplished by entering them into a cashbook or punching them into a spreadsheet. Sales data from point-of-sale or invoicing software is increasingly being downloaded straight into the books of business owners.
• Keep track of your transactions. Every business-related purchase must be documented.

If you intend to claim the expenditure as a tax deduction, you should also save the evidence of purchase. Again, you may record this information in a book or spreadsheet. Alternatively, you may automate the process so that all debits from your company bank account go into your bookkeeping software.

• Whether you use cash or accrual accounting, you might record income and costs at various periods.

Reconciling every transaction

• Reconciliation is routinely comparing your business records to your bank accounts to ensure that the transactions and balances match – and determining why they don’t. Bank fees, interest payments, deposits, and payments that have not yet been received in your bank accounts must frequently be accounted for.
• Depending on the number of transactions in your organization, you may perform bank reconciliation daily, weekly, monthly, or less regularly. However, you will very certainly be forced to reconcile your records before submitting tax returns.
• The sooner you reconcile transactions, the sooner problems may be discovered and fixed. It might be a good idea to do it daily so that the work doesn’t pile up.

Many smaller companies utilize online bookkeeping software to expedite these tasks and reduce the likelihood of human data input mistakes. These tools can do the following –

• Retrieve transaction data directly from POS systems, invoicing applications, and banks.
• Significantly accelerate bank reconciliation.
• Automatically pay invoices.
• Send automated invoice reminders to individuals or entities that owe you money.
• Receive notifications when sales invoices are paid.
• Monitor cash flow from your phone.

Want to know more about Relin Consultants’ bookkeeping services? Drop us an inquiry at enquiry@relinconsultants.com, and our bookkeeping specialists from Relin Consultants will contact you.

Companies will be able to assess their performance reliably once they commence bookkeeping and accounting. Directors can also make strategic business decisions after reviewing the accounting information. A Singapore-incorporated company should commence its accounting once the company starts its operations.

Yes, as per the Singapore companies act. All companies must prepare and retain a set of financial records including profit and loss and a statement of financial position once the company is incorporated.

Our team is qualified to provide you with monthly, quarterly, and annual accounting and bookkeeping services depending on your business needs. We can provide consolidation services and tax advisory services. 

Accounting is important as it helps a business to remain compliant with the authorities. By tracking your income and expenditure accurately, a company will not be overpaying taxes and the management or business owners can make sound business decisions using the data.

For example, if the accounting is done properly, a company can easily understand whether a product is still profitable. Such information is crucial for a business in the long term.

The accounting standard council in Singapore is the governing body overseeing and implementing the accounting standards in Singapore. The key accounting standards in Singapore are mainly as follows. 

• Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (International) (SFRS(I))
• Financial Reporting Standards (FRS)
• SFRS for Small Entities
• Charities Accounting Standard

Yes, you can switch to Relin Consultants easily by reaching out to us at enquiry@relinconsultants.com

The price for accounting services in Singapore can differ significantly depending on the industry of your business and the complexity and volume of the transactions. 

Certain accountants may charge you a flat price, an hourly rate, or even a percentage of your sales. It is recommended that you reach out to Relin Consultants to obtain a free quotation for your business.

You can outsource your accounting services in Singapore by reaching out to a professional accounting firm that specializes in accounting and tax services. Most public accountant firms and consulting firms will have an accounting department specializing in accounting and bookkeeping.

Among the common abbreviations that are used in bookkeeping are as follows –

• A/c: Account
• A/R: Account receivable
• A/P: Account payable
• B/S: Balance sheet
• G/L: General ledger
• P/R:Payroll
• TB: Trial balance
• EAT: Earning after tax
• PAT: Profit after tax
• Depr: Depreciation

The Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are a collection of accounting rules and regulations for financial reporting that are generally followed. GAAP aims at enhancing the clarity, uniformity, and comparability of financial information communication.