Ukrainian Adventure Engineer in PayrollHero Singapore

Posted on May 15, 2015 by

Announcing Our Latest Import
MYKOLA KYRYK

Our #AdventureEngineering message has reached far and wide! Software developers who have heard about PayrollHero’s Adventure Engineering have written to us, aspiring to be part of the team.

“I felt like it was a perfect match
from the moment I saw this video”
Mykola Kyryk

Here’s what Mykola did to catch our attention from his point of view:

Mykola: We had a couple sessions of remote pairing/discussion sessions. All people I talked to were very interesting interlocutors and I felt like I could bring a lot of value into the team.

Mykola spills the beans about his home country and moving to Singapore.

Tell me about your hometown. How many people are there?
Mykola: I’m from Lviv, Ukraine. It is a nice ancient city (founded in 1256). This city was part of Poland, Hungary, Austria and Russia for many years. So the country side has mixed architecture and culture with a population of around 850,000.

What kind of things you like to do back at home?
Mykola: Besides IT? Well a lot actually. I play basketball and travel a lot. In the last 2 years I’ve been to 8 different countries. I like different extreme activities. I’ve already tried scuba diving, skydiving and caving. I also like to ride my bike and go skiing.

What did the people closest to you say about your plan to move to Singapore to be a PayrollHero Adventure Engineer?
Mykola: That I was mad 😉 Some were surprised that I’m going that far away from my homeland. Most knew nothing about Singapore at all.

What were your first thoughts on Singapore after you’ve arrived?
Mykola: It is hot here! I went from +12 to +32 in 20 hours. Now I don’t find it hot anymore. I was also amazed with how structured and well organized everything is. Really convenient place to be.

What you think about the food and the hawker centers?
Mykola: Like nothing like I’m used to. Ton of options, any cuisine, for any taste. I’m still far from saying I’m used to all of this, but I love the adventure of it all. Hawker centers are great and also cheap!

Do you like the beaches in Singapore?
Mykola: That was the first thing I did when I arrived. I didn’t know how to get to the beaches so I spent almost 2 hours walking there. Night swimming is prohibited here, but I got what I came for. Beaches are really nice, especially at Sentosa island.

Was it easy for your to get your Singapore Employment Pass (EP)?
Mykola: I got mine while I was still in Ukraine. It was really a really quick and straightforward process. Once I arrived I had to go to the Ministry of Manpower to finalize the paperwork and got my EP card in 5 days. Amazingly quick and efficient.

What do you miss about home?
Mykola: I don’t really have time to miss about anything. Singapore is an amazing place. And there is still so many places I want to go and things I want to try. Of course, miss my family, but Skype helps to stay in touch. Hope to see them soon.

Did you know,… We’re Hiring!

Wanna be an Adventure Engineer with PayrollHero? Check out our job openings and get in touch!

Singapore Corporate Taxes101

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

Singapore Corporate Taxes101 Filing taxes can be a daunting task. Figuring out deductions and what your company is exempted from is complicated enough before you realise that it’s a new financial year, the rules have changed, and now you’re not under the same tax exemptions anymore. We looked around the interwebs for a while and we were stumped. So we decided this problem needs to be fixed.

Over the years, the Singapore government has tried to make the country a tax friendly one for corporates. With a bunch of nifty exemptions, retailers, restauranteurs and growing businesses can breathe a sigh of relief. The government’s got your back. Let’s get down to some important pointers for you to file taxes for your company.

Important Facts:

Rate: The current corporate tax rate is 17%.
Dates:
- Within 3 months of the company’s financial year end, the Estimated Chargeable Income document must be filed and submitted
- Every year in April, the IRAS sends Forms C-S or Form C filing package.
- 30 November: The Paper version of the Corporate Income Tax Form (Forms C-S or Form C) must be submitted. 15 December: The e-File Form of the same document must be submitted. Either the paper or the electronic version must be submitted.
- FormIR8A, which is a statement of an employee’s remuneration, must be issued for each employee by 1 March of every year.
- Your company needs to keep records of transactions for a minimum of 5 years. They must be submitted to IRAS upon request.
Use mytax.iras.gov.sg to file your company’s taxes, check or post objections to your tax assessment and apply for exemptions.
Taxes can be paid via internet banking, SAM, AXS station, Cash/NETS or GIRO.

Estimated Chargeable Income: Are you exempted?

The ECI is used to estimate your company’s taxable income. The IRAS notifies you before your ECI file is due. However, as a tax break, if your ECI is zero or your annual revenue is $1 million or less, then you do not have to submit the ECI, even if you have received a notification for it.

The ECI can be filed at mytax.iras.gov.sg. The government will then notify you on the exact tax amount which you have to pay within a month of the notice.

Corporate Income Tax Form

This is the big one. Here is where you declare your actual income in the financial year. It needs to be filed regardless of what your income looks like. There are two types: Form C-S and Form C. For a company with revenue not more than $1 million, Form C-S must be filed.

Exemptions

This is the part we have all been waiting for. With these exemptions, the government makes it easier on a start-up’s cashflows for a few years at least. Go through it because there is some good news for retailers as well.

Tax Exemptions for Start-ups: Start-up companies enjoy 100% tax exemption for the first $100,000 of chargeable income for 3 years. Another 50% exemption can be exercised on the next $200,000 which effectively means the tax rate is 8.5%.

Partial Tax Exemption: From the fourth year onwards, start-ups can exercise the Partial Tax Exemption. Here, 75% of the first $10,000 is exempted and another 50% on the next $290,000 is exempted.

Expenses before starting your business: The government also exempts taxes on expenses incurred the year before your company’s financial year in which you start your business. For example, if you financial year starts in Jan 1 2014 and your first earnings were on June 1 2014, then you will be exempted on paying taxes for expenses incurred between Jan 1 2013 and Dec 31 2013.

Capital Allowances: This one is great for retailers. You are given a capital allowance on fixed assets like electrical equipment, furniture and other fixtures for you company. This is in place of depreciation which is non-deductible.

E-Commerce

Retailers that create income through e-commerce websites have a set of rules that they need to follow. For a franchisee or a branch in Singapore with a franchisor based in a foreign country, the income generated by a website is not liable to taxation in Singapore. This is true even is the company’s customers are in Singapore or not. Check the links below for more details on taxation on e-commerce-centred business.

We hope this was helpful to you! We have put in some great links with guides to fill up your corporate tax forms. Do comment or drop in your email for more handy information!

Basic Corporate Tax Calculator: https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/page.aspx?id=6784

Disclaimer: As always, consult your lawyer or accountant for advice! We are here to help, but your specific situation should be reviewed by a professional with complete knowledge of your situation.

Getting a Liquor Licence in Singapore

Posted on May 15, 2015 by

drinks_0

Speaking with a few entrepreneurs who are setting up a new F&B outlet here in Singapore, I found that a few shared similar problems- mostly about the liquor licence for their restaurant and how to go about getting it.

We though it will be helpful to provide a guide to getting the liquor licence for your new establishment.

Before Sending your Application

It’s good to have the required paper work in order before applying for the liquor licence. You will need to be in compliance with laws & regulations from the relevant authorities and get approval for your establishment. Find out if your premises are approved for F&B here.

Liquor Licence Fast Facts:

License agency: Liquors Licensing Unit
Cost Of Licence: S$220 – S$1,760 (2-year licence)
Minimum Licence Processing Time: 14 working days

Got it? Great! Let’s get into the necessary details.

There are 2 types of liquor licences available in Singapore. If you are carrying out any of these activities:

To retail intoxicating liquor which is consumed on your premises (e.g. pubs, clubs, discos and hawker stalls)
To retail and/or wholesale intoxicating liquor that is consumed off your premises (e.g. wine specialty shops, alcohol importers and food caterers)

For more than 30 consecutive days, you will need to obtain liquor licence for your establishment.

If your activities is shorter than 30 consecutive days (1-30 days), you can apply for a temporary liquor licence instead.

Should your activities do not run on consecutive days, you will need to obtain more than one liquor licence for operation.

The Licence Fees

Types Of Liquor Licences
Licences for liquor sold and consumed on your premises
Name Of Licence	Permitted Hours	Licence Fees (2-Year Licence)
Public House Licence	1st Class (6am-12am)	S$1,760
Public House Licence	2nd Class (6am-10pm)	S$1,320
Beer House Licence	6am-12am	S$920
Outdoor Beer Stall Licence	6am-3am (Permitted hours to be decided based on the location)	S$570
Licences for liquor sold and consumed off your premises
Retail Liquor Shop Licence	6am-12am	S$220
Wholesale Liquor Shop Licence	6am-12am	S$220
Retail Beer Shop Licence	6am-12am	S$220
Wholesale Beer Shop Licence	6am-12am	S$220

Note that the licences only permits you to sell liquor within the stipulated hours. If your establishment requires sale of alcohol past these hours, you will need to get the Liquor License (Extension of Operating Hours).

Application, Processing Time and Payment Method

All applications for liquor licence are to be submitted through electronic filing (e-filing) via the Online Business Licensing Service (OBLS) at http://business.gov.sg.

The processing time for these licences takes up to 12 working days.

There are three online payment modes available-
Credit card (Visa or Mastercard), Direct Debit through your internet banking account. Payment modes available at our counter are NETS or cheque.
If the amount payable is more than S$2000/-, payment by cheque is preferable.

Was this post helpful? Let us know by writing a comment.

Be in touch with us. Find out how you PayrollHero can improve productivity for your business with our time, attendance, scheduling and payroll management system in the cloud.

Crash Course for Hiring a Singapore Intern

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

Editors Note: Introducing Pragya Gupta, Business Development Intern at the PayrollHero Singapore office. She will be contributing to the PayrollHero blog from time to time.

“To get a job you need experience; to get experience, you need a job.”

That pretty much sums up a college kid’s life-crisis. Enter: internships.

Singapore Payroll I am an intern at PayrollHero. Today marks the second day of my internship. I have been studying in a university in Singapore over the last two years. The importance of internships cannot be stressed enough to a college student. Universities even have an internship requirement that must be completed in order to graduate. So it is worth exploring how this works and what both parties, the intern and the company are required to do.

Internships, in general, are quite a messy affair. The first question that should/would strike anyone is: Why should I hire you? You’re just a kid, probably not a smart one, probably irresponsible and probably not good at what I need to get done. Most importantly, I am going to spend all these resources on you for two months or more, just to see you walk out that door by the end of it. What’s the point?

Great question. So here is the thing: companies take two or three months to train their newly hired staff just so they can get used to the way things work. And while that is true for interns as well, some companies use internship programmes to really judge how good a student is in order to hire them once they have graduated. By this time most of the training is already done and the company can be sure that the student fits the bill. Other companies need interns to help them with a particular project. In both cases, it’s a cost effective way to get things done. To give you a student’s perspective: an intern is always excited to do something new and get some experience. It is mutually beneficial, if all goes well.

Step 1: Who Can You Hire?

The Ministry of Manpower states rules that are different for a local student and an international student studying in a local university and looking for an internship. Local students in universities do not have binding requirements on the hours that they can work during term time. As an international student, I have a Student Pass that is valid for four years of college. During the term, I can work part-time for only 16 hours a week regardless of where I work: banks, startups, the neighbourhood Subway, anywhere. During holidays, there is no solid requirement that prevents me to work.

Leave of Absence: A student may take a Leave Of Absence for an entire term in order to get some internship experience, which can be a full-time internship. For an international student, this is possible only if the university’s internship requirement has not been completed. For a local student, the LOA has no binding requirement.

Step 2: Where Do You Look For Interns?

I applied for an internship using the standard internship search portals: StartupJobs.Asia, internsSG, the university jobs portal. Usually companies post about internship positions on these websites. Some of these companies partner up with universities and post job positions through the university portal or email. Some internships are structured while others are spontaneous and depend on the project that the company is currently working on. Companies specify the job scope in the search portals. PayrollHero worked a bit differently. It was featured on one of these sites. I clicked on the website, loved the look and content and decided to email them.

Step 3: Details, Payment, Contracts

The job applications have been posted; you have called the applicants in for an interview; you have picked a prospective intern. What’s next? Once an intern is hired, a contract must be drawn up. The contract specifies what the job requirement is, the number of weeks in the internship, number of hours in a day and the amount that the intern will be paid. An intern is covered by the Employment Act that entitles him or her to a stipend, a fixed number of hours and a few more entitlements (check links below). A regular internship is anywhere between 8 to 10 weeks. The regular stipend is between SGD800 and SGD1200 a month, depending on the hours and the job scope and excluding over-time pay. SPRING Singapore is an agency that supports SMEs to fund internships for local students. This is a good resource in case businesses have trouble paying for interns.

If the internship position was posted on the university portal, then the company and the university liaise together and the university directly clocks in the weeks for the student. In a self-sourced internship, if the student wants to clock in weeks, he or she keeps the university in the loop and they contact the company for details. Some universities require forms to be filled for the internship to be approved. Once the internship ends, the university sends a feedback form to the company for details on how the internship went and how the student performed.

Finally, internships are a great way to get people to know about your company. When a company ties up with a university, it can participate in career fairs and feature in promotional emails that the university sends out. Students get a chance to gain some experience and build skills for their future jobs. All in all, Singapore has a straightforward infrastructure set up to hire interns which makes it a worthy option for companies to explore the existing talent pool.

Happy Hiring!

For More Information:

Employment Act and who it covers: http://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/employment-act/who-is-covered

Hours of work, over time pay and rest day: http://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/hours-of-work-overtime-and-rest-days

SPRING Singapore: http://www.spring.gov.sg/Growing-Business/Grant/development-areas/Pages/HCD-SME-Talent-Programme-for-students.aspx

The New Employer’s Guide to CPF

Posted on May 13, 2015 by

Further the blog post on what CPF is. We thought it will be helpful to post a general guide to how CPF works (with useful links to CPF Website), for the new entrepreneurs setting up business in Singapore.

You are an employer, and employing Singapore citizens or Permanent Residents (PR) in your company- you are required contribute to CPF for your employees at the end of each month.

Know your role as an employer. CPF conducts regular audits on employers to ensure that CPF contributions are paid correctly and on time (14 days grace period is given at end month). CPF also takes feedback from employees on incidences where employers have not paid or under-paid their CPF contributions. Note that the penalty to employers breaching the CPF Act may be taken to court and if convicted, fined up to $10,000 or imprisonment, or both.

With that in mind, let’s get this right.

Contribution on Employee Wages and Age Group
CPF contributions should be determined based on the employee’s total wages for the entire month. This includes overtime pay, allowances, cash awards, commissions and bonuses. Find out which types of payment attracts CPF Contributions here.

The CPF contribution rate is determined by different age groups. There are 6 defined age groups and the CPF contribution rates decreases as an employee moves to the next age group.

Here are the 6 age groups:

35 years and below
Above 35 and below 50 years
Above 50 and below 55 years
Above 55 and below 60 years
Above 60 and below 65 years
Above 65 years

As of 1 January 2015, the CPF contribution rates have increased to help employees save more for retirement and medical.

Click to find out the updated contribution rates. CPF website also offers a contribution calculator.

When to Pay Contributions
The CPF contributions are due at the end of every month with 14 days grace period given at the end month. Should the last day of the grace period falls on a weekend or public holiday, your payment will be due on the next business day.

You are required to pay the employer’s and employee’s share of CPF contributions monthly for all employees (Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents) at the rates set out in the CPF Act. The CPF contributions payable should be based on the employee’s actual total wages earned for the calendar month.

How to Make Your Payment
CPF has made payment easy for new employers via online Direct Debit. As soon as you started the process of hiring your first employee, you should submit your CPF details using CPF e-Submit@web using the Singpass and Unique Entity Number (UEN).

Once you are approved, you will receive the an email and a welcome letter containing your CPF Submission Number, Payment Advice (CPF91) and Direct Debit Authorisation Form.

Here’s more details on Direct Debit deductions and FAQs

Was this post helpful? Comment and let us know.

Want to learn more about how PayrollHero can help you get your Singapore time, attendance, scheduling and payroll setup? Contact us for a one on one demo.

Retail Executive: Eileen Grey, The Picture Company

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

As part of a new series on this blog [Retail / Restaurant Executive] we will be interviewing restaurant and retail executives from all over the world to gain insight and perspective into how they make their decisions, grow their businesses and deal with challenges.

First up is Eileen Grey, owner of The Picture Company in the Philippines.

Q. When and why did you start The Picture Company?
A. In 2002, I was a new mom to 2 little boys and I wanted every moment frozen in time through photos. My search led me to dark photo studios. The photographers did not enjoy interacting with my babies to capture precious moments for me and my family. Within 6 months of that search, we opened our first “home” in The Podium Mall in the Philippines. We made a studio where kids and moms can feel at home, not just with the surroundings but with their personal photographers as well. Bright studios were put up, colored backgrounds, lots of play and fun. Our aim was to create magic in our studios everyday. Today, we continue to love what we do. We love babies and we love creating keepsakes for your family. The Picture Company has grown but we still keep it personal – just like the first day we opened our doors more than a decade ago.

Q. What is your background? (retail? or you figured it out as you went?)
A. My background is hotel management. I figured it out with the help of EO members that served as my mentors.

Q. How many locations do you have in the Philippines?
A. We have 9 locations across the Philippines. (The Podium Mall, Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, Alabang Town Center, Glorietta 4, C1 Bonifacio High Street Central, Shangri-la Plaza and Ayala Center Cebu)

Q. How do you choose a location for The Picture Company?
A. We look for malls that appreciate our product. Locations that have a lot of foot traffic for families and strollers.

Q. Will you ever take a sub-par location, if it is in an area you want to be in? or will you wait for the right spot?
A. We will always wait for the right spot. Our business is a weekend business (when the parents can go to the malls) and we have limited number of hours to do business (we can take maximum of 8 sessions a day for only 2 days a week), it is too risky to take a sub par location.

Q. How big is a Picture Company location? What have you learned about store size?
A. Our stores range from 36m2 to 120m2. In the beginning, we kept getting a bigger space to accommodate strollers and nannies and extended family, but we realised that when the store is big, it also lacks coziness. More attention is given to the customer when the space is just right. Another thing we need to consider is the malls have doubled and tripled their rental rates.

Q. Does a corner location matter for The Picture Company?
A. No. Of course good foot traffic is important but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a corner store.

Q. Are malls better? or street level locations?
A. We were successful in locations like Podium and Rockwell where clients expressed they feel safe. So when we first went street level like Bonifacio High Street, we were taking a chance. It turned out okay. A little warm and exposed to the weather changes like rain. More dirt comes in which isn’t friendly for a baby environment but it worked.

Q. At what point did the number of stores change how the business is run? I have been told, 1 or 2 stores is ok, but 3+ requires a different management approach, systems, procedures, etc. What was the tipping point for The Picture Company?
A. You are very correct! It was very personal and mom and pop until 3 stores. And then I had to consider personnel, training, back office space, production, logistics, etc.

Q. Anything you would like to add?
A. I wish we could locate The Picture Company in more spaces but new malls sprouting up (or the ones renovating) are creating bigger spaces and bringing up rent because of the international brands coming in. I wish they would always make spaces for the Filipino retailers so we have character in our malls and not look like every other mall with the same big brands. We also need to help the Filipino retailers thrive in their own country. I think the fight for all these brands to enter the malls is making every mall look alike and not offer anything new for its customers.

– Thanks to Eileen for participating!

Would you like to be profiles in our Retail Executive series. Reach out by commenting on this blog post or emailing support at payrollhero .com.

Are you interested in learning more about PayrollHero? Our payroll software is live in the Philippines and Singapore and our Time & Attendance solution is used all over the world.

What is Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) All About?

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

singapore cpf In Singapore, there a government fund call the CPF of The Central Provident Fund. It is a social security system that enables working Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PR) to set aside funds for later in life. It also has a healthcare, home ownership, family protection and asset enhancement portion.

How does the CPF system work?

Both employees and employers make monthly CPF contributions. These contributions go into three accounts:
singapore cpf contributions As Singaporeans live longer, there is a need for a reliable stream of income to meet living expenses. Statistics have shown that today, 1 in 3 Singaporeans aged 65 is going to live to age 80 and 1 in 2 is going to live to age 90 and beyond.

To learn more about CPF check out their website.

How Tech Savvy are Singapore’s Aunties and Uncles?

Posted on May 9, 2015 by

Getting into the mindset of being ‘Ridiculously Client Focused’

At Morseng Thai Herbs Store – Golden Mile Complex

Today, I was on a mission to find out how tech savvy our aunties and uncles really are. I set out to speak to some of our senior citizens to find out if they are as ‘cool’ as the young kids in town.

I had a few simple questions in mind; Do you have an email account?, What kind of phone do you have? What is your favourite app? These questions would be enough to help me understand if aunties and uncles will use a web app or mobile app for their jobs.

Surprisingly, most said YES! Age is not a factor! 7 out of 11 seniors I spoke with today, were not opposed to learn new apps on their smartphone. As for owning an email account, 6 seniors mentioned that they have their own personal email accounts, but rarely used. From that alone, I could guess that they are able to learn their way around using a computer and using a web app.

Another upside, is that 4 out of the 7 seniors that owned smartphones have Whatsapp as their favorite mobile app to use everyday. They use it to chat with families most of the time, and this clearly shows me that they know how to download and use a mobile app if they bother to learn how to.

The Best Uncle!

At Chocolat World – The Arcade

The highlight of my survey was from Uncle Roland. He was the most senior among the rest I spoke with today, but the most tech savvy. Surprise!

Roland is using a Samsung S4 phone and owns an email account, which he occasionally uses. He loves to chat on Whatsapp with his family everyday. When I asked him was it easy to learn to use the mobile app, he simply says that “old dogs got to learn new tricks!” Well said Roland!

The Take Away

This “hallway test” has revealed to me that the older demographic in our society, is getting on our tech savvy generation and willing to learn. They remain a relevant and viable target audience for us, and I have greater appreciation for them.

Asia HR Leaders Forum in Singapore with Roffey Park

Posted on May 6, 2015 by

Earlier today, PayrollHero co-founder Stephen Jagger spoke at the Asia HR Leader Forum organised by Roffey Park. If you don’t know Roffey Park – they are an internationally renowned leadership institute based in the UK and Singapore, focused on developing people who develop organisations. Find out more on what they do here – www.roffeypark.com

Roffey Park had a unique approach for the forum. The most interesting segment would be the facilitated table discussions – where the 30+ HR professionals in attendance were split into 5 smaller groups, and each group was given a specific topic to discuss concerning HR with a “subject-matter-expert” leading that discussion. Each discussion was deeply insightful as participants actively shared their thoughts and experiences on major HR issues: changing employee mindsets, emotional intelligence, developing strategic thinking capabilities, staff morale and understanding the human dimensions of productivity.

Facilitated HR Table Discussions

Participants in discussion

PayrollHero Xray Insights

Stephen closed the forum with a presentation on the importance of integrating a business intelligence component into HR systems. Steve shared the PayrollHero Xray Insights app, which provides businesses with useful analytics based on employee data, so managers can make better, intelligent decisions on human resources. He also ran through how our Adventure Engineer program works to attract and retain talent.

Read more about Xray Insights

“I found the session yesterday really inspiring with the passion you have to make a difference.”

Simon Lau
Leadership Effectiveness & Organisation Development
Group Talent, Learning and Culture Standard Chartered Bank

You can see Steve’s presentation deck below:

Asia HR Leaders Forum Presention by Stephen Jagger for Roffey Park from PayrollHero

Here is some of the material covered by Roffey Park:

Asia HR Leaders Forum – Roffey Park Institute – May 6th 2015 from PayrollHero

Want to learn more about PayrollHero? Register for our next event on May 14th 2015.

Singapore Payroll Software Show & Tell

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

Singapore Payroll Event We are holding another event at our office in the Ocean Financial Centre at Raffles Place in Singapore on May 14th 2015. At this free event you will learn about the pitfalls of manual time and attendance systems, how PayrollHero can help and the amazing business intelligence that can be delivered to your iPhone in real time.

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, RedMart, BGC and many others are happy clients… come learn why they and many others subscribe to PayrollHero for their time, attendance, scheduling, HR and payroll needs.