Accounting Records Singapore Companies Should Keep: Source Documents and Schedules

What counts as accounting records

Accounting records include more than invoices. A usable file should include sales invoices, receipts, supplier invoices, contracts, bank statements, payment evidence, payroll records, CPF records, director claims, loan agreements, fixed asset schedules, inventory records, GST workings if applicable and tax computation support. The objective is to let another competent person understand what happened without relying on memory.

A common weakness is to keep only bank statements. Bank entries show money moving, but they do not prove the commercial nature of the transaction, GST treatment, tax deductibility or whether the payment was made to a director, supplier, employee or related party. Source documents explain the story behind the numbers.

The five-year retention rule

For corporate income tax purposes, IRAS requires companies to retain records for at least five years from the relevant YA. GST-registered businesses also need proper GST records to support GST declarations. The retention period should be built into the company’s document system; records should not disappear when the bookkeeper changes, a cloud subscription ends or a director leaves Singapore.

For struck-off or wound-up companies, practical record retention can still matter after operations stop. Directors may need old records to answer IRAS queries, bank questions, shareholder disputes or transaction reviews. A company should therefore export and archive key accounting and statutory files before closing accounts or changing providers.

How to organise records by workflow

Records are easier to review when organised by workflow: sales, purchases, bank, payroll, GST, fixed assets, loans, shareholders/directors and tax. Each workflow should have a clear link between source document, accounting entry and supporting schedule. For example, a payroll month should connect payslips, CPF submission, bank payment, salary expense and CPF payable movement.

E-commerce and platform businesses need extra care. Settlement reports, platform fees, refunds, chargebacks, shipping charges and GST treatment may not appear clearly from the bank receipt alone. The accounting file should reconcile platform reports to bank deposits and separate revenue from fees and refunds.

Director and related-party transactions

Director payments are a common source of confusion. A payment to a director may be salary, director fee, reimbursement, loan repayment, advance, dividend or consulting fee. The accounting record should identify the nature of the payment and retain the approval or supporting document. Otherwise the same payment can be misclassified for tax, payroll, CPF and financial statement purposes.

Related-party transactions should be documented with commercial support. Management fees, recharge arrangements, shareholder loans and cross-border service fees need invoices, agreements, basis of charge and evidence of actual service or funding. Good accounting records reduce transfer pricing and deductibility risk.

From records to financial statements and tax

The year-end accounts should be built from records that can be traced. A trial balance without supporting schedules is not enough for a reliable financial statement. Before filing tax, the accountant should review revenue cut-off, expense support, fixed assets, director balances, GST treatment, payroll, related-party charges and whether non-deductible expenses have been adjusted.

For small audit-exempt companies, the absence of audit does not remove the need for proper records. It simply means the directors and preparer must be more disciplined about the support retained, because no auditor is independently testing the file before it is used for ACRA and IRAS compliance.

For this reason, companies should periodically export key ledgers, bank reconciliations, GST reports, payroll summaries, fixed asset schedules and financial statements. Keep them with source documents and statutory records. This gives the company continuity if a bookkeeper retires, software access lapses, or a tax query comes after the engagement has ended.

Cloud accounting and digital storage are useful only if the company controls the records. Directors should know who owns the software subscription, where source documents are stored, whether attachments can be exported and how records will be handed over if the provider changes. A system that is tidy inside one vendor’s login but inaccessible to the company is not a strong compliance file.

Digital records and transfer control

The transfer package should be saved outside the outgoing provider’s login. Directors should not rely on a promise that records can be retrieved later. If there is an IRAS query, bank review or shareholder dispute, the company needs its own archive. Strong record ownership is one of the simplest ways to reduce future compliance cost.

Before changing accountant or bookkeeper, the company should export the full general ledger, trial balance, balance sheet, profit and loss statement, bank reconciliation, outstanding receivables and payables, fixed asset register, payroll summary, GST reports and tax computation support. It should also download copies of key source documents if they are stored inside the accounting software. This avoids a situation where the new provider can see totals but cannot verify details.

Minimum archive before changing provider

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• IRAS — Record keeping requirements
• IRAS — Basic guide to corporate income tax for companies
• IRAS — GST keeping records
• IRAS — Invoicing customers and tax invoices

Continue with related guidance

• Bookkeeping services for SMEs
• Xero bookkeeping for tax filing
• Unaudited financial statements
• Accounting and taxation service

Written and reviewed by Martin, CA Singapore

Martin is the founder of ProSec Pte. Ltd. and a Chartered Accountant of Singapore. He reviews ProSec guides for practical consistency with Singapore company, accounting and tax requirements.