Singapore Incorporation Services Comparison: Fees and Responsibilities

Compare a defined first-year scope before the headline fee

Start by identifying what the founder already has: an eligible resident director, a usable registered office, a secretary arrangement and accounting support. A filing-only purchase can be sensible when those resources are genuinely available. The same purchase leaves a substantial gap for a founder who needs the provider to arrange them.

The public ACRA company fee schedule lists S$15 for a name application and S$300 for registration, totalling S$315. An Annual Return submission is S$60. These official charges were checked November 4, 2026. They are distinct transactions; a package containing both must not have S$315 added again as an extra incorporation charge.

These are the HSJGlobal approved private-company prices dated September 5, 2026; scope and official-fee checks were made November 4, 2026. All amounts are in Singapore dollars and exclude GST. GST is added only where HSJGlobal is legally required to charge it. The figures do not describe LLP, branch, licensing or work-pass services.

For the underlying entity, company registration in Singapore still requires suitable officers, address and records regardless of the service option selected. Choose a package to close an actual responsibility gap. A more expensive option is useful only when its additional work matches your company’s needs.

Read the four service boundaries separately

Essential Incorporation: S$680 once

This option includes the S$315 ACRA name and registration fees, name pre-screening, standard constitution, registration submission, Business Profile and standard post-incorporation company documents. Its implied balance for the included professional work is S$680 − S$315 = S$365, before any legally applicable GST.

It excludes secretary, registered office, accounting and tax, bank or payment-provider charges, licences, work passes and certified translation. The founder supplies the eligible resident director and office. A filing-only service does not supply a full year of compliance. A secretary must still be appointed within the statutory deadline.

Compliance Start: S$1,280 first year

Compliance Start adds 12 months of company secretary and registered office service, Corppass registration assistance, and preparation and submission of the first Annual Return to the Essential scope. It includes S$315 incorporation government fees and the first S$60 Annual Return government fee. The same-scope S$880 renewal includes that year’s S$60 Annual Return fee.

It does not include bookkeeping, financial statements, corporate tax or GST returns, resident director, licences, work passes, certified translation, bank charges or GST. A company with active transactions needs a separate accounting and tax arrangement. Ask how the first Annual Return delivery is scheduled alongside the 12-month secretary service.

Compliance Plus: S$1,980 first year

Compliance Plus includes Compliance Start and annual bookkeeping, unaudited financial statements and Form C-S preparation for a company with revenue not exceeding S$50,000, no GST registration, no audit requirement and a simple transaction structure. The government-fee treatment matches Compliance Start. Same-qualification renewal is S$1,580 per year.

XBRL, audit, GST, payroll, complex cross-border transactions, historical catch-up and work outside the eligibility limits are separately quoted. Form C-S preparation is not a blanket promise that every company qualifies to use the form or that every tax submission is included. IRAS’ Form C-S conditions must also be met; confirm the filing responsibility in writing.

Foreign Founder: S$3,280 first year

This option includes Compliance Start, a 12-month resident-director arrangement and bank application document assistance. Same-scope renewal is S$2,880, subject again to KYC/AML, risk assessment and director availability. It excludes any refundable risk deposit, accounting and tax, work passes, licences, certified translation, bank charges and GST.

Bank approval, work permission, licences and tax residence are not guaranteed by the service. Obtain the deposit amount, release conditions and operating information required by the director before acceptance. The resident-director component addresses a real office-holder role; it is not a promise that the company may operate without oversight.

Separate service delivery from legal accountability

A provider can prepare a filing while directors remain responsible for company decisions and the accuracy of information supplied. A company secretary appointment, a resident-director appointment and a service-provider engagement are different relationships. Ask for the legal name of the organisation providing each service and the individual who will hold each office.

ACRA requires a secretary within six months, and a sole director cannot also act as secretary. Its officer requirements also make clear that a nominee or inactive description does not remove a director’s duties. Outsourcing a task does not transfer every statutory duty to the provider.

Before selecting director support, distinguish the director from a bank signatory, beneficial owner and person approving ordinary payments. The package should not be read as automatically appointing the service director to control the bank account. Agree any required signing role separately, alongside the information the director needs to exercise oversight.

The CSP regulatory framework requires provider registration and compliance obligations, including checks for commercial nominee-director arrangements. Verify the actual filing organisation rather than inferring regulatory status from a marketing brand. A registered provider’s due-diligence questions are part of that process, not an optional package upgrade.

Normalise the price without double-counting fees

Use a consistent comparison basis: same entity type, same director position, same service term, same government-fee inclusion and same transaction complexity. Promotional prices, a missing address service and a refundable deposit should not be combined into a single unexplained ranking.

For the three recurring HSJGlobal options, included first-year government fees total S$375: S$315 incorporation plus S$60 Annual Return. The remaining included service portions are S$905 for Compliance Start, S$1,605 for Compliance Plus and S$2,905 for Foreign Founder. These are decompositions of the package totals, not extra amounts to add.

These arithmetic illustrations assume an accepted second year with unchanged eligibility and scope. They exclude deposits, GST where applicable and separately quoted work. They are not all-in operating budgets and do not include company capital, bank balances, wages, rent or product-specific licensing.

The renewal scope should be compared line by line with year one. Check whether a first-year promotion disappears, additional transactions trigger charges, or a resident-director renewal requires another risk review. A flat yearly figure is meaningful only when the service definition remains the same.

Use questions for reviewing an incorporation quotation to obtain written answers about exclusions, additional work and cancellation. Refund terms have not been specified in the approved price schedule; do not assume that an unused service, failed KYC or bank rejection automatically creates a refund entitlement.

Check delivery evidence and the provider’s handover

Before payment, define the evidence expected at each completion point: an accepted engagement, approved filing instruction, official incorporation outcome, Business Profile, constitution, appointment records and calendar of included future work. Match each item to a responsible party and an expected delivery condition.

ACRA’s registration procedure distinguishes submission, endorsement where applicable, payment and the final outcome. An adviser’s statement that filing is complete does not establish the bank account is usable. Bank-document support should specify what the provider prepares and what the bank alone decides.

For recurring work, establish how records are requested, who reviews drafts, who gives approval and how acknowledgements are returned. Ask what happens when the company changes shareholder, expands activity, becomes GST-registered or exceeds the accounting package’s revenue limit. Those events can change the service scope before renewal.

Check the service start and end dates against the company calendar. An address subscription, secretary appointment and annual filing engagement may have different delivery milestones. Record which notices the provider forwards, who monitors the company email and who follows up if records arrive late. A package label alone does not define the operational communication process.

Ask how changes are authorised during onboarding. If an investor joins, a director withdraws or the activity changes after a quotation is accepted, the original due-diligence and drafting assumptions may no longer fit. Require a revised scope and cost approval before additional work proceeds, with a clear record of which instruction replaced the earlier one.

Make exit arrangements reviewable too: document export, transfer of company records, registered-office replacement, secretary resignation and continuing resident-director coverage. Service cancellation should not create a gap in required appointments. Keep the handover obligations in the engagement rather than relying on a friendly sales conversation.

Choose incorporation services by the responsibility gap

Choose Essential only when the excluded local arrangements and continuing compliance are already assigned. Choose Compliance Start for the defined secretary, address and Annual Return scope. Choose Compliance Plus only when the company’s accounting profile fits its limits. Consider Foreign Founder when a resident-director arrangement is actually needed and acceptable after due diligence.

Hold acceptance where the quote leaves an essential role unassigned, hides the renewal, combines refundable money with consumed fees or implies guaranteed third-party approval. A suitable provider is one whose responsibilities, price and handover can be checked against your operating requirements.