SERVICE · SINGAPORE
In good standing with ACRA, year after year.
Financial statements, XBRL, your AGM or dispensation, and the annual return — all lodged on time, every year, with a named company secretary keeping your registers current and every change lodged in between. Our agents run the compliance calendar, prepare the financial statements and the XBRL filing; your accountant reviews the work and lodges it with ACRA.
Facts checked on 12 September 2026
WHAT THIS COVERS
The work, in plain terms.
Incorporating a Pte Ltd in Singapore comes with an ongoing relationship with ACRA that does not pause between annual filings. Every financial year, the company owes ACRA a set of specific deliverables on specific dates, and between those dates there is a second, quieter set of obligations — the company secretary in place, the registers kept accurate, every change in directors or shareholders lodged before the deadline passes — that has nothing to do with a single date on the calendar.
Each financial year, a Pte Ltd must prepare financial statements, hold an annual general meeting or qualify for dispensation from one, and lodge an annual return with ACRA in XBRL format. These three sit on a single timeline running from your financial year end, and because each one depends on the one before it — the AGM needs the financial statements, the annual return needs the AGM or the dispensation — a delay early in the year carries through to a missed deadline later. Whether Simplified or Full XBRL applies, and whether the company qualifies for audit exemption, are decisions that sit inside this same timeline and have to be settled before the statements are finalised.
Alongside that annual cycle, ACRA expects continuous compliance: a company secretary appointed and kept in place without the office running vacant for too long, a register of registrable controllers kept current, and any change to directors, the registered address or shareholdings lodged within days rather than at the next convenient filing. None of this is abstract for the people running the company — the penalties for lateness and the disqualification that follows repeated defaults attach to directors personally, not just to the company. Synergy Accounting's ACRA service handles both halves: agents run the compliance calendar and prepare the filings, and your named accountant reviews and lodges each one, and holds the company secretary role for you.
WHO IT'S FOR
Built for SMEs like these.
Newly incorporated
Your Pte Ltd has just been set up and you need a company secretary appointed within the 6-month deadline, a compliance calendar running from day one, and someone who understands what ACRA expects before your first financial year end arrives.
Behind on annual returns
You have missed an annual return deadline, or come close to it, and the S$300 or S$600 penalty and the risk of director disqualification are now real rather than theoretical. You need the filings caught up and a calendar in place so it does not happen again.
A lapsed company secretary
Your previous company secretary is no longer active — a resignation, a firm that stopped responding — and registers, filings or the AGM may have slipped as a result. You need a new secretary in place before the vacancy runs past 6 months, and a proper review of what has and hasn't been done.
THE SINGAPORE RULES
What the regulator expects.
ACRA is not paperwork appended to running a Pte Ltd — it is the ongoing exchange for the protection of limited liability. The obligations below cover what has to happen every financial year — financial statements, an AGM or its dispensation, and an annual return in XBRL — and what has to be tracked continuously: a company secretary in place, registers kept current, and any change lodged within days of it happening. Each row sets out the deadline, the figure or threshold that decides how it applies to your company, and what it costs to get wrong.
Missing a date does not simply mean a late fee. The fines and the disqualification below attach to the individuals who ran the company, not only the corporate entity, and a company that lets its compliance lapse for long enough can be struck off the register altogether.
| Requirement | What applies |
|---|---|
| Company secretary | Every private company must appoint a company secretary within 6 months of incorporation. Once appointed, the office cannot be left vacant for more than 6 months, so a resignation or removal has to be followed by a new appointment within that window. |
| Annual general meeting | Private companies must hold an AGM within 6 months of the financial year end. It can be dispensed with if financial statements are sent to members within 5 months of the financial year end and no member requests a meeting be held. |
| Annual return | The annual return must be filed within 7 months of the financial year end for non-listed companies. It is lodged with ACRA and carries a filing fee of S$60. |
| Financial statements and XBRL | Financial statements are filed in XBRL format. Companies with revenue and total assets each S$500,000 or less may use Simplified XBRL; other companies file Full XBRL. Solvent exempt private companies may file a solvency declaration instead. |
| Audit exemption | A company qualifies as a small company exempt from audit if it meets at least 2 of 3 tests for the last two financial years: revenue of S$10 million or less, total assets of S$10 million or less, and 50 employees or fewer. |
| Register of Registrable Controllers | The register of registrable controllers must be maintained and updated within 2 business days of a change. |
| Changes to directors, secretary, address or shares | Changes to directors, the company secretary, the registered address, and share allotments or transfers must all be lodged with ACRA within 14 days of the change taking effect. |
| Late annual return penalty | Filing the annual return late attracts a penalty of S$300 if it is filed within 3 months of the due date, rising to S$600 if filed after that. |
| Director disqualification and striking off | Directors are disqualified after three or more defaults in filing annual returns or financial statements, and ACRA may proceed to strike the company off the register. |
HOW WE HANDLE IT
Step by step, every period.
- 01
Deadline calendar
From your financial year end, the agent builds a compliance calendar covering the AGM deadline at 6 months, the dispensation window at 5 months if you qualify, the annual return deadline at 7 months, and ongoing dates such as the company secretary vacancy limit and the 14-day window for lodging changes. Your accountant reviews the calendar before the year begins.
- 02
Financial statements
Once your books are closed for the year, financial statements are prepared from them — the same reconciled figures your bookkeeping and management accounts already rely on, rather than a separate reconstruction. Your accountant reviews the statements before they go to members or into the XBRL conversion that follows.
- 03
XBRL conversion
The agent maps your financial statements into the XBRL data elements ACRA requires, choosing Simplified or Full XBRL depending on your revenue and total assets, or preparing a solvency declaration if you qualify as a solvent exempt private company. Your accountant checks the mapping against the statements before it is filed.
- 04
AGM or dispensation
Where an AGM is required, your accountant prepares the resolutions and the meeting is held within 6 months of your financial year end. Where you qualify for dispensation, financial statements are sent to members within 5 months of the financial year end instead, provided no member requests a meeting.
- 05
Annual return and ongoing changes
The annual return is lodged within 7 months of your financial year end, registers are updated to match it, and the S$60 filing fee is paid. Through the rest of the year, any change to directors, the secretary, your registered address or shareholdings is lodged within 14 days of it happening.
AGENTS + ACCOUNTANT
Who does what.
ACRA compliance combines a fixed calendar of dated obligations with judgement calls — whether dispensation from an AGM applies, whether Simplified or Full XBRL is the right template, whether the audit exemption is met — that carry real consequences if got wrong. Agents are well suited to the calendar: tracking every deadline from your financial year end, assembling financial statements from reconciled books, and mapping figures into the XBRL format ACRA requires. Your accountant is well suited to the judgement: reviewing the statements before they go to members, checking which XBRL template and audit position apply, and holding the company secretary role personally accountable for what is lodged. Splitting the work this way means every filing is both on time and correctly classified, with one named person responsible for it.
- Track AGM and annual return dates from your financial year end
- Prepare financial statements and XBRL drafts
- Prepare resolutions and registers for review
- Reviews the financial statements and XBRL
- Files the annual return with ACRA once you approve
WHAT GOES WRONG WITHOUT IT
The expensive mistakes.
Late annual return
Filing after the 7-month deadline triggers a S$300 penalty within 3 months of the due date, rising to S$600 after that. Directors are disqualified after three or more defaults, and a company that lets its filings lapse for long enough can be struck off the register — consequences that reach directors personally.
No company secretary on record
The office of company secretary cannot be vacant for more than 6 months. A gap left unfilled — after a resignation, or a secretarial firm that stops responding — leaves statutory duties like preparing the AGM and lodging the annual return with no one clearly responsible for them.
Filing the wrong XBRL template
Simplified XBRL is only available to companies whose revenue and total assets are each S$500,000 or less; other companies must file Full XBRL. Filing the wrong template, or filing figures that don't match the underlying financial statements, means the annual return is filed on an incorrect basis.
Changes not lodged within 14 days
A new director, a change of registered address, or a share transfer all have to be lodged with ACRA within 14 days of taking effect. Left until the next convenient filing, the change sits unrecorded on the public register for longer than the law allows.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
A company that stays compliant with ACRA, year after year.
- A compliance calendar built from your financial year end, covering every ACRA deadline
- Financial statements prepared from your closed books
- XBRL filing — Simplified or Full, or a solvency declaration where you qualify
- AGM documents prepared, or the dispensation handled if you qualify for it
- Your annual return lodged with ACRA within the 7-month deadline
- Registers, including the register of registrable controllers, kept current
- Director, secretary, address and share changes filed within 14 days
- A named company secretary responsible for your filings
Also on request: Incorporation is still handled on request. If you are setting up a new Singapore company we register it with ACRA, appoint the corporate secretary and set the compliance calendar from day one, then move you onto a monthly package.
INCLUDED IN YOUR PACKAGE
Included from the Essentials package.
For smaller SMEs that need their books and filings handled properly. Every package is a fixed monthly fee with a named accountant on your file — see what each one includes and choose the right starting point.
Common questions.
Do I need to hold an AGM?
Private companies must hold an AGM within 6 months of the financial year end, unless you qualify for dispensation. Dispensation is available if financial statements are sent to all members within 5 months of the financial year end and no member requests a meeting. We prepare whichever route applies to you — the AGM documents and resolutions, or the dispensation paperwork — as part of the annual cycle.
What is XBRL, and do I need Full or Simplified?
XBRL is the data format ACRA requires financial statements to be filed in alongside the annual return. Simplified XBRL is available if your revenue and total assets are each S$500,000 or less; other companies file Full XBRL, and a solvent exempt private company may file a solvency declaration instead. We work out which applies to you and prepare the filing.
Am I exempt from audit?
You qualify as a small company exempt from audit if you meet at least 2 of 3 tests for the last two financial years: revenue of S$10 million or less, total assets of S$10 million or less, and 50 employees or fewer. We check this against your figures each year so you know before the financial statements are prepared.
What does a company secretary actually do?
A company secretary is a statutory office every private company must fill within 6 months of incorporation, and it cannot be vacant for more than 6 months at a time. The role covers preparing the AGM, maintaining registers including the register of registrable controllers, and lodging changes to directors, address and shareholdings within the deadlines ACRA sets. We hold this role for you as part of the service.
What happens if I file late?
A late annual return carries a penalty of S$300 if filed within 3 months of the due date, and S$600 after that. Directors who accumulate three or more defaults are disqualified, and a company that lets its compliance lapse for long enough can be struck off the register. Our compliance calendar exists so these deadlines are met before they become a problem.
Can you take over from our current company secretary?
Yes. We review what has and hasn't been done — registers, past filings, any change that was not lodged — before taking on the role, so nothing from before we started is left unresolved. Once we take over, the compliance calendar, the filings and the secretarial role all sit with us.
Need this handled?
Tell us where the current process stands. We'll recommend a practical scope and clear next step.