How to Get an Import License in Singapore

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

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How do you import the best ingredients for that awesome burger?

Scenario 1: Your restaurant is up and running. We’ve got your back with the liquor license. But now, you want to introduce a new segment to your restaurant: modern Japanese. You realize you need to import supplies in order to wow your customers.

Scenario 2: You are running a grocery store and want to sell imported products: meat, fish, eggs, processed food. Your supplies are coming in from all over the world and the suppliers are ready for business.

Your imported supplies need to be approved by Singapore Customs. You need an import license before you do anything else. How do you proceed?

Step 1: You need to register with Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA). But before that you must make sure of the following:

Ensure that the imported products comply with the General Classification of Food and Food Products
Do note that importing fresh table eggs require an additional screening process to ensure that you have complied with the storage requirements. More on this here.
Make sure that the food establishment that is exporting food to Singapore is accredited by AVA. You can check here if the country or food establishment you are importing from is accredited by AVA.
An active Unique Entity Number (UEN) with Singapore Customs. To learn how to activate your customs account, click here.
A GIRO account for the payment of fees

Step 2: Submit an application to AVA through the e-licensing website. You can apply for a license to import meat, fish products, fresh fruits, vegetables and table eggs. To import processed food products and food appliances, you have to register on the same website (no license).

Step 3: You must pay for your license via GIRO

Here are the charges for licensing and registration fees:

License for Import/Export/Transshipment of Meat and Fish Products	SGD 84/year	Normal Service: 1 working day to processExpress Service: Same day processing. Pay an additional fee equal to the cost of your licence
Licence for Import/Transshipment of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables	S$378 per annum	Normal Service: 1 working day to processExpress Service: Same day processing. Pay an additional fee equal to the cost of your licence
Licence to Import Table Eggs	Free	5 working days to process
Registration to Import Processed Food Products and Food Appliances	Free	1 working day to process.

The process is straightforward and quick.

What To Do After The 3rd Store Grand Opening

Posted on June 4, 2015 by

Image by decor8blog.com

Success in your business would mean it’s time to expand, but this feat does not come without it’s own set of challenges.

After interviewing 3 different owners for our Retail/ Restaurant Executive Series, I’ve learnt that they all faced similar challenges in management, as soon as they’ve reached their 3rd store opening.

Here are some of the problems and solutions used by our retail/ restaurant executives when managing multiple store locations.

Keep Calm

Managing multiple locations means using technology to cut down on travel expenses

Implementing a different management system is necessary when you have several stores to oversee. Although it is not impossible, but it takes a lot of effort for you to constantly schedule your travel time to supervise different stores at different locations. Travel costs will pile up even more if your stores are located at different countries.

Getting your hands on free, cheap or available SaaS (software-as-a-service) solutions will be save your company a chunk of money. While some businesses have their own custom- built software platforms as collaborative platforms, some of the more commonly-used tools are available online and widely used by small business owners. Some of the best cost saving productivity tools are available online- free or at low monthly costs like Google Documents, Skype, PipelineDeals.com.

As mentioned by our retail executive Andrew Masigan, owner of The Advent Manila Hospitality Group in the Philippines, he advice that “the trick is to put the important systems in place… the efficiency your company’s chain-of-command largely determines
how well your stores operate”.

Managing multiple locations means having putting a system in place

“You must have systems in place to be able to standardize the quality of your communications, products and results,” says Bert Martinez, founder of Bert Martinez Communications. Ensuring a strong internal system of operations would mean that you can save costs on training and reduce time required for supervision. Each employee will have a clear understanding of their responsibilities and boundaries.

In our interview with Adrien Desbaillets, President at SaladStop, he says that “a strong infrastructure is required to support the operation. Overheads start to escalate and a strong focus on SOPs, training, technology is required.” The point here is then to make each employee’s responsibility crystal clear through an organised structure and combine that with a system that measures each person. That way, everyone is accountable for delivering their work regardless of which location they are based at.

Managing multiple locations means shifting from micro management to systematized macro management

Before, Eileen Grey– owner of The Picture Company in the Philippines, didn’t need to think about an entire infrastructure when she opened her first store. She recalls it being just “very personal and mom and pop” until her 3rd store opening. Now she has to consider personnel training, back office space, production, logistics and others.

Having systems and technology in place is good for the business, but it wouldn’t help much if there is no focus on communication. Establishing good communication practices within the whole business is key to collaborate with offices at different locations, co-workers and clients.

Good tips to foster good communication between offices at different locations can include using webcams during weekly team meetings or webinars so team members can see each other, establish a daily reporting system online and use a centralized task management software like Asana, Trello and others.

(Read on how PayrollHero stays in sync with our other offices across the globe)

PayrollHero can help you efficiently manage your multiple business locations and cut down on costs. Talk to us about our business or meet us at our next Meetup!

Canada B2B Networking Marketplace: The Post Event Write-up

Posted on June 2, 2015 by

Great turn out at the Canada B2B Networking Marketplace

The energy at the event was amazing as business owners are enthusiastic to share their product stories with others in attendance.

PayrollHero made a presence and shared our story- how we believe we can help businesses function better with our nifty HR and payroll management software in the cloud.

We would like to say a big Thank You to Guy Belanger for letting us take part in this great opportunity.

Thank you Guy!

Event Highlight

This year’s event also marks the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties between Singapore and Canada. In a speech by High Commissioner H.E Heather Grant, she expressed gratitude to be friends with Singapore and played a part during its formative years since 1965. (Read more about Singapore’s 50th anniversary of bilateral relationship with 13 other countries)

This event was a prelude to the main exhibition and networking events: CommunicAsia 2015 and BroadcastAsia 2015 held at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore between 2- 5 June 2015.

If you’ve missed the opportunity to speak with the companies present at last night’s event, you can be sure to speak to them at these events. The Canadian pavilion at MBS Basement 2 (BH3-07) has meeting spaces to be used at your convenience on a first-come first-served basis.

If you’re looking to meet with PayrollHero, we are having a casual meetup at our office on 10th June 2015.

Details and Registration available here >>>

Restaurant Executive: Adrien Desbaillets, President SaladStop!

Posted on June 1, 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.

Adrien of SaladStop Today is Adrien Desbaillets the President at SaladStop!

Q. When and why did you start Salad Stop?

We started SaladStop! In November 2009 and our motto is “Eat Wide Awake”. Simply put we want to change the way people think about their food.

Q. What is your background? (restaurants? or you figured it out as you went?)

I grew up in the hotel industry as my father spent many years with InterContinental and Shangri-La so I guess that it must be in the blood! We travelled around the world and some of my fondest childhood memories are in the back of a hotel kitchen. I graduated from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and continued as a consultant in the hospitality sector. I most recently worked for Kingdom Hotel Investments, spearheading all investment opportunities for the group in China. I moved back to Singapore during the financial crisis and we decided that we want to bring something fresh and healthy to Singapore. No one was presenting salads the way we were.

Q. How many locations do you have?

We have 12 in Singapore and we just opened our second location a few weeks ago in the Philippines at Rockwell and are scheduled to open a few more locations by the end of the year there.

Q. How do you choose a location?

We choose our locations based on a multitude of factors but most importantly, we need high volume areas with a strong concentration of office buildings. SaladStop! is still mainly a lunch concept and we rely a lot on strong office demand.

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?

We generally will never consider a sub-par location but have opened locations in new developments which might take a longer time to mature. These locations take a long-term view but can also give us a first mover advantage. Otherwise, we will wait for the right spot and market conditions.

Q. How big is a standard location? What have you learned about location size?

Our standard locations vary between 500 – 800 square feet. We have learned that our locations can be smaller with the support of a centralized kitchen and efficient spacial planning.

Q. Does a corner location matter?

A corner location is preferrable but visibility, accessibility and traffic are more important. A strong corner location is a bonus but we generally don’t consider this as a criteria.

Q. Are malls better? or street level locations?

This varies greatly in Singapore and Manila as malls can be a destination in itself and provide a constant traffic flow while street level locations can provide additional visibility and peak-hour traffic.

Q. At what point did the number of locations change how the business is run? I have been told, 1 or 2 locations is ok, but 3+ requires a different management approach, systems, procedures, etc. What was the tipping point for you?

We learnt that the tipping point is close to 5 locations. The economies of scale at that point bring a number of benefits but a strong infrastructure is required to support the operation. Overheads start to escalate and a strong focus on SOPs, training, technology is required.

SaladStop! Journey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fu9vaJXJM8

Cloud Computing Part II: 5 Companies that are Changing the way Business is Done

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

As a sequel to our previous post on cloud computing, we thought we would give you an idea of how cloud computing is being used by companies to help businesses in South East Asia. Below we have 5 companies that are changing the way businesses function. Some of them are catered towards bringing in more consumers through the door while others are helping business move day-to-day operations into the cloud so that businesses can spend more time and money on their core competencies.

Loyalty Apps

Perx: This Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software collects loyalty cards into one neat app. For a consumer, you earn points every time you purchase something. Accumulation of points leads to rewards. Perx says that consumers spend 7 times more with the app than without it. Some of the merchants under Perx’s belt are Subway, Joe and Dough’s, Maki San and Salad Stop.

For you, a merchant, Perx gives a huge client database by putting you on their map. The company uses Amazon Web Services to control all the data it collects. Perx’s data analytics gives information about consumption trends, how much a consumer would spend on lunch, where they are located: in short, everything you would like to know about your customer. Perx offers this wealth of data to all its merchants for a fee. As an added marketing platform, Perx features companies on their email and blog which is sure to boost your presence in the community.

Foursquare: While Foursquare does not collect virtual loyalty cards, it uses its core competency – geolocation data and services – in order to bring businesses to consumers. For businesses that claim their names in the Foursquare directory, all rewards and deals that are offered will be displayed to the user.

Inventory Management

TradeGecko: Singapore’s leading user-friendly inventory management software uses the Cloud. It helps retailers and wholesalers to manage multiple warehouses and the entire supply chain without using conventional methods like excel. TradeGecko allows remote monitoring which helps retail managers to control operations at multiple locations. TradeGecko also has Xero integrated into it to digitize the accounting end of the business as well.

Unleashed: Similar to TradeGecko, Unleashed provides analytics on turnover rates, overstocked items, managing margins across different channels (retail, wholesale, e-commerce) and all this in real time. Unleashed also integrates other Cloud solutions to its app.

Food Delivery Apps

Slurp: Created by Silent Mode, Slurp is the Malaysian version of Foodpanda. It uses cloud based POS systems that help restaurant owners process delivery orders. While Slurp does not deliver food, it has a data analytics service along with a customer app and a waiter app, all in the effort to make ordering food a smoother and error-free process.

PayrollHero | Canada B2B Networking Marketplace

Posted on May 31, 2015 by

We are excited to be part of this networking event!

Proudly hosted by the High Commission of Canada- This networking event is all about getting to know Canadian companies in Singapore varying from hardware, software or service in Next Generation Connected Services, Telecommunications, Power Solutions, Mobile Broadband and many others.

If you interested in being part of this excellent networking opportunity, please register via this link: http://www.mbdesign.com.sg/Canada_CommunicAsia2015/

Stay tuned to read our after-event post next week!

Happy Vesac Day | Singapore Holiday

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

singapore holiday

“Vesākha (Pali;Sanskrit: Vaiśākha, Devanagari: वैशाख), Wesak or Vesak, also known as Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists on different days in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and the South East Asian countries of Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Indonesia, and other places all over the world.^[1]^[2]^[3] Sometimes informally called “Buddha’s Birthday”, it actually commemorates the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha in the Theravada or southern tradition.^[4]”*wikipedia

News: Labour Crunch in Singapore

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

Labour Crunch in Singapore The F&B sector is facing a labour crunch. Restaurants are turning away diners even though they have empty tables because they are understaffed. This has been a problem in Singapore, but never more serious than now. Singapore’s unemployment rate is at a stunning 1.9%. The turnover rate in the F&B business is the highest among all industries.

As an economics student, I see this as an interesting problem. Finding out what is going on behind the statistic is necessary from a policy perspective. But it also helps a restaurant owner to prepare his or her restaurant and steer through till the economy adjusts to the issue. So what is going on and what can you expect?

Saturated labour market

With such a low unemployment rate, the pool for new recruits is drying. It would help if Singapore could widen its employment base and rope in people who have dropped out of the labour force altogether. However there is a problem with this.

Employment numbers among locals is concentrated towards food services, retail trade and construction. Wages in these domestic oriented industries are lower than export oriented ones. Low wages are a disincentive. People will be more willing to joining the labour force if wages were higher.

The second problem with widening the employment base is that the population of Singapore is too small. There aren’t enough locals to widen the labour market. But more on that later.

Now, we have mentioned that wages are low in the food services and retail market. But you must be noticing that you need to pay higher to retain your workers. This is the typical economics demand-supply problem. As the demand for workers rises while the supply remains the same, wages must rise. If it has not happened in a dramatic way yet, it will eventually. Markets will adjust and overcome rigidities unless the government intervenes.

Labour Laws

Let’s go back to widening the labour market and why we can’t seem to do that. Firstly, Singapore’s local population is too small. Secondly, foreign workers are restricted by numbers and industries.

For the F&B services, it would help to employ a foreign worker for every old-age worker, as suggested by Food and Beverage Work Group Report. While this is a policy decision that the government has to take, restaurant owners should be aware about the policy changes that are likely to come about, considering the current labour market.

Perception of working in the F&B industry

It is hardly surprising that the labour market is not kind to F&B services. The hours are eratic, the pay is low. The lack of a minimum wage in Singapore leads to wages being pushed down to a point where Singaporeans cannot accept the job.

The overall benefits of an entry level worker in the F&B industry are minimal. This could have damaging effects. If the government does decide to loosen rules on part-time, the connotation that is attached to F&B employment may hinder chances of employing students. If this perception does not change, the F&B industry might see more restaurants shutting down.

Solutions

Let’s say that the government will intervene and solve the situation at some point of time. But what can you do in the meantime?

Increasing Productivity Through Technology

There can be no better time to invest in technology than now. With a shrinking labour force, restaurants have fewer waiters to take orders and handle customers. By installing POS systems, waiters can focus on serving customers. Improving other aspects of your businesses will also cut costs and help you through the tight economy. Inventory management and food delivery ordering systems can be digitzed. All this aims towards reducing manpower and costs.

Improving the perception of working in F&B

This is imperative in order to bring in workers into your restaurant. There are a few ways you can do this. Firstly, add more meat to the job. The worker should know that there is a possibility of growing in the job.

For more tips on retaining young workers read “How we keep our young talents from leaving“.

Secondly, workers must be awarded with performance based incentives. They need to feel empowered and know that working hard will pay off. This will raise the perception of the industry as one that can further career prospects for individuals.

Training

Lastly, Putting them through well designed training programs will improve turnover rates. The Group Report suggest the training program implemented in Singapore Airlines and customized to the F&B industry.

The F&B industry needs to change with the times and adapt to the current economic conditions. Restaurant owners need to adopt best practices and use technology to reduce human errors and eventually reduce costs. This way, the industry will be less exposed to labour market fluctuations that can potentially result in damaging Singapore’s reputation as the food hub of Southeast Asia.

If you are in need of people, check out our friends at BGC for your staffing needs.

How We Keep Young Star Talents from Leaving

Posted on May 29, 2015 by

Every employee is valuable. Repeating this old tired phrase really doesn’t mean much anymore. Sure, we know we are of value, but how valuable? Can we measure that? How do we know if our bosses are with us as much as we are with them in this company? Studies have revealed that the millennial generation is the population in the workforce that really values these questions, and use it to determine if they have join the right company to work for.

The PayrollHero Team has millennials as the majority. Just to be honest, our young talents in our team are being headhunted daily because they are doing such a stellar job and other companies are starting to take notice. However, the thought of leaving never occurred. Here’s how we keep our young rock stars with us!

We communicate all the time
There are no walls between management and the employees. We function as a team, always working towards the bigger picture. Our team is constantly on the move, functioning from different offices in Singapore, Canada and the Philippines, which is made easy using productivity apps like Slack. (Read on how we use Slack)

Having great communication means we are clear on the tasks each team has to complete and eliminate any grey areas and speculation. There can never be enough clarity when working with Millennials. Each team gathers for a huddle every morning to discuss completed tasks, give feedback- good or bad, in the moment. This way also we keep accountability crystal clear within the team.

Morning Huddles

Suggested reading: 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Being flexible enough to meet halfway
PayrollHero is incredibly blessed with many gifted and talented millennials like Vince, and Maita. And we are more than happy to participate in out of office events as often as possible. We are with each other 10 hours in a day, every weekday and some weekends too and happy to do so. We work hard and play hard together.

Smiles at breakfast

Recognizing each employee’s lifestyle needs is important too. Millennials appreciate when a company acknowledges life outside of work. PayrollHero knows that mixing life and work as harmoniously as possible is one of the secret to making millennials happy to be at work. Fundamentally, we believe in getting things done. So, you can feel free to do activities you love, so long as you complete tasks that is required of you during the week.

Empowering each employee with ownership
For a millennial, ownership means a lot. At PayrollHero, many members of the company have a stake in the company which ensures that everyone commits. As a millennial myself, I can see that having that kind of ownership is empowering because I can be a part of something bigger. The days of working for a company just for the paycheck are gone. Owning a part of the company is a great incentive for an individual. But more importantly, it pulls the team together to focus towards a common goal: to see the company succeed.

To know exactly how we work, you’ll just need to join us. We are hiring for many positions across all offices and even for home based roles.

Giving credit to the ‘little guy’ in your company

Posted on May 28, 2015 by

The PayrollHero Way
Giving credit where credit is due is an important task for managers to keep the morale of their employees up. Employees like to be noticed and praised for a job well done.

Why are managers not giving enough praise? Besides the fact that you are busy running around, taking care of daily operations; making sure everything is running as it should, finding out which employee did well for the last 4 weeks will take more effort. Most of the time, this task is not on the top of the priority list and so easily overlooked.

PayrollHero can help you look good to your employees!

Surely there are times where you wish you would have remembered to at least say ‘Good Job’ to Bob the cashier for working 8 hours and being the most helpful. Human errors like this can be avoided by using a simple app, where you can monitor your employees day to day work and track how they are performing accurately.

By using the employee feedback app, Daily Pulse, employees are able to ‘like’ their colleagues that was the most helpful at the end of the shift. Another plus, your customer can give their feedback using the Customer Feedback app too- by voting for the employee that was the most helpful to them.

You, the manager, will receive the data in real time via Xray Insights app. The app will show a clearer view of each employee performance and tracks the employee who is getting the most ‘likes’ on that particular shift. Information is readily available for you at a touch of a button. This makes your job so much easier! It also eliminate subjectivity in your decision as it is based on figures- not hearsay.

Work Place Transparency

At PayrollHero, we want to break the conventional workplace hierarchy by making information more transparent within the company. Using mobile or web apps, all managers can readily access whatever information required anytime, anywhere. We recognize that being on the ball is important when running a business- so time should not be wasted on you waiting for information from other managers.

The Data Might Even Surprise You!

You may be glad to find out that the employee that is actually doing great is the person you least expect. It could very well be the person who is clearing the dishes- that is the most helpful employee among the rest and the most ‘likeable’ to your customers.

The app works by making sure every employee is acknowledged, from the chef to the janitor. You can be the best manager who knows exactly the deserving employees to give credit to at the end of the day.

Read our post on Scheduling Best Practices for Managers.

Want to learn how to be a better manager?

Join our next Meetup on 10th Jun 2015 @ 4pm in Singapore.

We will be focusing on tips and tools you can use to better optimize HR and payroll processes, while cutting costs on time and creating a happier work culture.

To register >>>