GST returns
Quarterly F5 returns once you are registered, reconciling output tax on sales against input tax on purchases.
Singapore · GST · IRAS · ACRA · XBRL
A Singapore compliance guide for accounting software
What your business has to file, when it falls due, and how cloud accounting software fits into each step. Read it before you shortlist a platform, so the questions you take to your accountant or vendor are the right ones.
This guide covers four filing families
GST · corporate tax · ACRA · CPF
Start with what you actually have to file
This guide is written for owners and finance staff who want to understand the requirements before choosing a platform. Nothing here replaces advice from your tax professional, but it will make those conversations more specific.
Singapore obligations tend to arrive in four clusters: GST once you cross the registration threshold, corporate tax filing with its estimated chargeable income step, the ACRA annual return, and monthly CPF contributions if you employ staff. Each cluster has its own deadline rhythm and its own data shape. Software helps most where the data shape is structured and repeated.
Before you compare features, map the four clusters onto your own calendar. That single exercise exposes more mismatches than any feature table.
IRAS and corporate tax
Corporate tax filing runs on its own schedule, with estimated chargeable income filings sitting alongside it.
ACRA annual return
Companies file annual returns, and many are required to submit financial statements in XBRL format.
CPF and payroll
Monthly CPF contributions for eligible employees, with submission deadlines that do not move.
GST registration and what triggers it
GST registration in Singapore depends on your taxable turnover. Once registered, you file GST F5 returns on a quarterly basis by default. The return reconciles output tax on sales against input tax on purchases, and both sides come out of the same set of transactions you already record.
This is where software earns its keep. If you are preparing F5 returns in a spreadsheet, the reconciliation work is where errors accumulate: a misclassified sale, a purchase logged without its tax treatment, a credit note applied to the wrong period. A platform that produces the return from your books removes that step, because the return stops being a separate document and becomes a view of data you already maintain.
A practical check before you buy: ask whether the software tracks taxable and non-taxable supplies separately, whether it handles zero-rated and exempt categories, and whether the F5 figures are generated or simply displayed. The first two determine accuracy; the third determines how much manual work remains each quarter.
What the F5 return needs
Where it comes from
Output tax on sales
Tax codes on every invoice you issue
Input tax on purchases
Supplier records with tax treatment
Zero-rated and exempt supplies
Separate categories, not one tax bucket
Reconciliation to the ledger
Generated from your books, not retyped
Audit file
The IRAS Audit File and why it matters
IRAS can request an Audit File, a structured export of your accounting data in a format the regulator can read. Producing one manually is painful; producing one from software that supports it is a menu option.
This is one of the clearest dividing lines between compliance-ready platforms and general bookkeeping tools. Financio, for example, states support for IRAS Audit File workflows. If you are GST-registered, check this feature before anything else on your shortlist.
If the platform supports it
The export is generated from the same ledger that produces your returns, so the two agree by construction and the audit trail stays intact.
If it does not
You reconstruct the file by hand when the request arrives, often under time pressure, from records kept in more than one place.
Filing deadlines and the quarterly rhythm
GST F5 returns are generally due one month after the end of your accounting period. Corporate tax filing runs on its own schedule, and estimated chargeable income filings sit alongside it. The practical effect is that your books need to be current within weeks of period end, not months.
Obligation
Rhythm and what it asks of your books
GST F5 return
Quarterly by default, generally due one month after period end. Needs sales and purchases coded with tax treatment.
Corporate tax filing
Its own annual schedule, with estimated chargeable income filings alongside. Needs a closed, reconciled year.
ACRA annual return
Annual, and often with financial statements in XBRL. Needs structured data, not just accurate figures.
CPF contributions
Monthly for eligible employees. Needs payroll that calculates and records contributions correctly.
Cloud software helps here because the data is already in the system. The bottleneck moves from data entry to review, which is a better problem to have. The moment that matters is not the filing day itself but the week before it, when someone has to decide whether the numbers are finished. If your books are current, that week is a review. If they are not, it is a scramble.
Companies and filing
ACRA filing and XBRL
Companies file annual returns with ACRA, and many are required to submit financial statements in XBRL format. That means your financial data has to be structured, not just accurate. A tidy set of numbers in the wrong shape still has to be rebuilt before it can be filed.
Some accounting platforms generate XBRL-ready output directly; others leave you to transcribe figures into a filing tool. It is worth confirming which side your shortlisted product falls on, because the difference shows up once a year and at the least convenient moment.
Deskera ERP, for instance, was named in ACRA's seamless filing initiative materials, which relates to this integration work. That is a useful signal about the vendor's engagement with the framework, though it does not by itself tell you whether the product fits your business.
What XBRL changes about your year-end
The figures have to arrive tagged and mapped, which usually means your chart of accounts has to line up with the filing taxonomy. Platforms that generate the output take care of the mapping. Platforms that do not leave you with a spreadsheet export and a filing portal.
Chart of accounts
Mapped to the filing taxonomy
Statement set
Generated from the closed ledger
Comparative year
Pulled from prior-period data
Filing step
Generated in software, or transcribed by hand
The question to ask
Does the product produce XBRL-ready output?
CPF, payroll, and statutory contributions
Payroll in Singapore means CPF contributions for eligible employees, with monthly submission deadlines. The software has to calculate contributions correctly, record them, and support the submission process. Some platforms bundle this tightly with bookkeeping; others treat payroll as a separate module with its own pricing.
If you employ staff, test the payroll module with your actual salary structure rather than a demo dataset. Bring one real month of payroll into the trial: allowances, deductions, any employee who joined or left mid-month. Errors here are visible to employees, which raises the stakes well above a mis-coded expense.
Payroll also feeds the books. Contributions you record in the payroll module have to land in the right accounts, and a platform that keeps both sides in one system avoids the monthly copy-and-paste that causes most of the drift.
See payroll workflowsTest the payroll module before you commit
- Enter one real month of payroll, not the demo file the vendor supplies.
- Include an employee who joined or left partway through the month.
- Check where the contributions land in your chart of accounts.
- Confirm whether payroll pricing is included or billed separately.
How the IRAS Accounting Software Register helps
The IRAS Accounting Software Register lists software with accounting and tax capabilities for Singapore workflows. It is the closest thing to an official capability list, and it is the fastest filter a buyer can apply before reading a single feature page.
Products like Automa8e appear in IRAS materials tied to GST and tax filing functionality. A listing does not mean the product suits your business, but it does confirm the vendor has engaged with the framework. Start there, then evaluate features.
The order matters. Filtering by the register first removes the platforms that were never going to handle a statutory export, so the comparison you run afterwards is between real candidates rather than a long list. Biskovia maintains official registration and support for the cloud accounting software it presents, and every platform in our comparison is checked against the register before it appears.
Filter first
Check the register before you open a feature list. It removes products that cannot produce a statutory export.
Then compare
Between remaining candidates, weigh the filing steps each one performs and where it stops.
Then test exports
Run an audit file and a return on real data during the trial, before any subscription starts.
Where software helps and where it does not
Software handles calculation, recording, and export. It does not decide your tax position, and it will not tell you whether an expense is deductible. It also will not fix a chart of accounts that was set up badly two years ago.
What the software does
- Calculates tax on each transaction from the codes you set.
- Records every entry with a date and a trail you can follow later.
- Exports returns and audit files in the format the filing step expects.
- Keeps payroll contributions and their ledger entries in one system.
What it does not do
- Decide whether a transaction is deductible or how to treat an unusual one.
- Repair a chart of accounts that was structured badly before you arrived.
- Replace a tax professional on questions of position or interpretation.
- Correct figures that were entered into the wrong period at the start.
The realistic benefit is fewer manual steps and a cleaner audit trail. The realistic limit is that judgment still comes from a person, whether that is you or your accountant. Choosing software with that boundary in mind produces better decisions than expecting the platform to close the gap.
Building a filing calendar you can keep
Map your obligations to dates: GST quarters, corporate tax deadlines, the ACRA annual return, CPF submissions, and any XBRL requirement. Then check which of those your software can prepare directly and which need an external step.
Most mismatches between software and business show up in this exercise, not in a feature comparison. Do it before you buy, with your actual deadlines in front of you.
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1
List every date
GST quarters, corporate tax, ACRA, CPF, and XBRL if it applies to your company type.
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2
Mark what software prepares
Note which dates your shortlisted platform can turn into a finished, submittable output.
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3
Mark what needs a person
Anything left over is either your accountant's step or a manual export you should budget time for.
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4
Check the week before
Confirm your books can be closed and reviewed in the window before each deadline, not after it.
Common questions about Singapore filing
Do I need GST-registered software if my turnover is below the threshold?
Not necessarily, but check your position with a tax professional before deciding. If you are not registered, GST F5 preparation is not a requirement, though IRAS Audit File support may still matter if you are asked for records. Many Singapore businesses register voluntarily, which changes the software requirement.
Can cloud accounting software file my GST return directly?
Some products prepare the return and support submission through IRAS digital services, while others generate the figures for you to submit. The capability varies by platform and plan. Ask specifically whether the product handles the submission step or stops at preparation, since that determines how much manual work remains.
What is XBRL and does my company need it?
XBRL is a structured data format ACRA uses for financial statement filing, and many Singapore companies are required to submit in it. Whether it applies to you depends on your company type and status. Check the current ACRA requirements, then confirm whether your shortlisted software generates XBRL-ready output.
Who do I contact if my filing situation is unusual?
Write to Biskovia at [email protected] or call +65 6295 0068 during business hours, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM SGT. We can talk through which filing steps your business actually has and which platforms in our comparison handle them.
Next step: map your own deadlines, then compare
Take the four filing families on this page and put your real dates beside them. Whichever platforms survive that exercise are the ones worth a trial. If you would rather work through it with someone, our team is in Singapore and answers on business days.
Talk to Biskovia about your filing setup
Biskovia presents cloud accounting software with official registration and support for Singapore businesses. Tell us what you file and we will point you to the platforms that match it.
8 Marina Boulevard, Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1, Singapore 018981
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM SGT
Biskovia · cloud accounting software with official registration and support
Singapore 018981