8 Best Company Incorporation, Corporate Secretary & Accounting Services in Singapore 2026 — Sleek, Osome, InCorp & More

To incorporate a private limited company (Pte Ltd) with ACRA, you need: (1) AT LEAST 1 SHAREHOLDER — can be an individual or a company, local or foreign; 100% foreign ownership is allowed. (2) AT LEAST 1 LOCAL RESIDENT DIRECTOR — a Singapore Citizen, PR, or an eligible pass holder (e.g. EntrePass/Employment Pass holder) who is ordinarily resident here. If you're a foreigner with no local director, you appoint a NOMINEE DIRECTOR (a resident who fulfils the legal requirement but isn't involved in running the business) — most incorporation firms provide this as a paid service. (3) A COMPANY SECRETARY — must be appointed within 6 MONTHS of incorporation, must be a natural person ordinarily resident in Singapore, and must be qualified (the sole director can't also be the company secretary). (4) A REGISTERED OFFICE ADDRESS in Singapore — must be a physical, operational address (a virtual or serviced office works — see our serviced/virtual office guide; you can't simply use a P.O. box, and using your home address requires the Home Office Scheme). (5) MINIMUM PAID-UP CAPITAL of S$1 (you can start with as little as S$1 and increase later). (6) A COMPANY NAME approved by ACRA. WHO HANDLES IT: a corporate-services firm or digital platform acts as your registered filing agent, files the incorporation via ACRA's BizFile, and typically provides the company secretary + (for foreigners) nominee director. Foreigners generally must engage a registered filing agent to incorporate (you can't self-file from overseas the way a local can). Always confirm the current ACRA requirements + your provider's scope, as rules + fees can change.

DIY VIA ACRA BIZFILE: if you're a local (Singaporean/PR) with a simple setup, you can self-incorporate directly on ACRA's BizFile portal. The government fees are about S$315 total — S$15 for company name application + S$300 for incorporation. That's the cheapest route on paper. BUT you still need: a company secretary appointed within 6 months (you generally can't fill the role yourself if you're the sole director, and it must be a qualified person), a registered address, and you take on all the ongoing compliance yourself (annual returns, AGM, accounts, tax filing). So 'DIY' rarely means zero outside help — most still pay for a corp-sec at minimum. USING A FIRM / DIGITAL PLATFORM: a corporate-services firm or platform (Sleek, Osome, InCorp, etc.) handles the whole incorporation as your filing agent, usually bundles the first-year company secretary + registered address, and offers ongoing accounting/tax. Incorporation packages are often promoted around a few hundred dollars (sometimes with first-year corp-sec included), then there are annual corp-sec + accounting fees. WHEN DIY MAKES SENSE: you're local, the structure is simple (e.g. single-director-shareholder), and you're comfortable arranging your own company secretary + managing compliance. WHEN A FIRM MAKES SENSE: you're a FOREIGNER (you generally must use a registered filing agent + likely need a nominee director — DIY isn't really an option), your structure is complex, or you simply want the whole thing + ongoing compliance handled so you don't miss statutory deadlines (which carry penalties). For most founders, the time saved + the bundled compliance is worth the modest fee. Always compare current package scope + fees, since incorporation promos + annual costs vary by provider.

IT DEPENDS ON YOUR COMPLEXITY. PICK A DIGITAL PLATFORM (Sleek, Osome, Counto) IF: you're a local founder or a straightforward foreign setup, you want transparent packaged pricing + a slick online/app experience, your accounting needs are standard (typical SME bookkeeping), and you value having incorporation + corp-sec + accounting in one dashboard. These platforms are fast, often cheaper for standard cases, and great at automating routine bookkeeping + filing. Their sweet spot is the high-volume 'normal' company. PICK AN ESTABLISHED FIRM (InCorp, Rikvin) IF: you're a FOREIGN entrepreneur/company needing nominee director + work-pass (EP/EntrePass) support, your ownership or structure is complex, you're expanding regionally, or you want a named account manager + advisory rather than a self-serve portal. Traditional firms earn their value on the hard, non-standard cases that trip up automated flows. PICK A SPECIALIST IF your need is specific: Lanturn for fund/VCC + family-office structures; Sprout Asia or Timcole if your priority is ongoing SME accounting + compliance with a personal touch. A USEFUL TEST: list your must-haves (nominee director? work pass? VCC? monthly bookkeeping? GST? payroll?) and see which providers cover all of them in one package without expensive add-ons. For a simple local Pte Ltd, a digital platform usually wins on price + convenience; the more foreign/complex/advisory-heavy your case, the more a traditional firm is worth it. Always confirm the current scope + total first-year + ongoing fees before choosing.

Incorporating is a one-time event; staying compliant is annual + ongoing, and missing deadlines carries ACRA/IRAS penalties. THE KEY ONGOING OBLIGATIONS for a typical Pte Ltd: (1) COMPANY SECRETARY — must be appointed within 6 months and maintained at all times. (2) REGISTERED OFFICE ADDRESS — must be kept current + operational. (3) ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) — companies must hold an AGM (private companies may be exempt if they meet conditions, e.g. sending financial statements to members), generally tied to your financial year end. (4) ANNUAL RETURN to ACRA — must be filed each year (private companies generally within 7 months of the financial year end), via BizFile. (5) FINANCIAL STATEMENTS / BOOKKEEPING — you must keep proper accounting records and prepare financial statements; some companies must file financial statements in XBRL format. (6) CORPORATE TAX with IRAS — file your Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) generally within 3 months of your financial year end (unless exempt), and the annual Corporate Income Tax Return (Form C-S / Form C-S (Lite) / Form C) by 30 November each Year of Assessment. (7) GST — if your taxable turnover exceeds the registration threshold (or you register voluntarily), you must charge + file GST (typically quarterly). (8) CPF + payroll — if you have employees, CPF contributions + related filings apply. WHY PEOPLE USE A FIRM/PLATFORM: these deadlines + filings (corp-sec, annual return, ECI, Form C-S/C, XBRL, GST) are exactly what incorporation providers handle on an ongoing basis, so you don't miss them. Penalties + late fees for missed ACRA/IRAS filings add up and can lead to enforcement action against directors. Always confirm the current deadlines + your specific obligations with ACRA, IRAS, or your corporate-services provider, as thresholds + rules are updated periodically.