Switching provider.Notice, one filing, your records back.
Moving a Singapore company to a new corporate secretary, accountant or nominee director takes a month of notice, one ACRA filing and a handover. At year end it costs nothing beyond the new fee; mid-year it costs one extra year-end fee, S$900 to 3,000 in 2026. This page is the mechanics, the timing and what the new provider should charge.
The assessment has a route for companies that are already here and want a better provider.
- Notice, most engagements
- 1 month
- ACRA filing for a new secretary
- Within 14 days
- Cost to switch, at year end
- S$0 to 500
- Cost to switch, mid-year
- One extra year-end fee
- Records the old firm must hand over
- All of them
- New provider, per year
- S$1,400 to 4,500
ACRA rules from ACRA. Fees are public list prices from the self-serve platforms and managed firms we compare, checked September 2026.
Five things that make a switch cheap or expensive.
The reasons people switch, in order
A provider who takes a week to answer an email. A quote that has grown every year without the company growing. An accountant who missed a filing and let the company pay the fee. A nominee director who wants a bigger deposit. A platform that was fine at incorporation and cannot answer a tax question now. Slow replies are the most common reason by a distance, and they are a good reason: the filings on this site all have dates, and a provider who is slow in March is slow in the month the annual return is due.
What the engagement letter says
Most corporate secretarial and accounting engagements run for a year and end with one month of notice, sometimes at the end of the financial year only. Read the letter before you give notice: some firms charge for the year-end accounts even if you leave before them, and a few hold the company's records until the last invoice is paid. Fees already paid for the year are rarely refunded, which is why the timing below matters.
The mechanics
The new firm sends you an engagement letter and a set of resolutions: appointing the new secretary, and if applicable the new nominee director, and accepting the old ones' resignations. The directors sign. The new secretary files the change with ACRA within 14 days of the resolution. The new accountant takes over the Xero file or asks for an export, and asks the old firm for its working papers, the fixed asset register and the last tax computation. The old firm must hand these over; the records belong to the company.
- Registered address changes on the same ACRA filing if the old firm was providing it
- Update the bank, IRAS and CPF contact details; they do not follow the secretary
- A change of nominee director needs the new director's consent and identity documents before the old one resigns
Why year end is the time
If the switch happens at the financial year end, the old firm closes the year and the new one opens the next, and you pay one year-end fee. Mid-year, two firms reconcile the same year: the old one to the date it stopped and the new one to catch up, and you pay both. The difference is one year-end fee, S$900 to 3,000 for a small company. If the old provider is missing filings, switch now and pay it; if they are only slow, give notice now to switch at year end.
What the year-end work costsWhat the new provider should cost
S$500 to 1,500 a year for the corporate secretary and address, S$900 to 3,000 for accounting and the tax filings, and S$1,500 to 5,000 for a nominee director if you still need one, all at 2026 list prices. A managed firm packages them; a self-serve platform sells them separately. If the new quote is not lower or clearly better than the old one, the switch is not worth the month it takes.
The new provider, per year.
Compare the new quote line by line with the old one. The switch is worth doing when this table comes out lower, or when the old firm is missing dates.
| Item | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate secretary and address, per year | S$500 to 1,500 | Mandatory. The cheapest tier is fine for a simple company. |
| Accounting and tax, small company, per year | S$900 to 3,000 | Transaction volume and whether payroll and GST are included. |
| Nominee director, per year | S$1,500 to 5,000 | Some providers add a refundable deposit. Falls away once a resident director is in place. |
| GST filing, per quarter | S$150 to 400 | Only once you register. Mandatory above S$1 million in taxable turnover. |
- Corporate secretary and address, per yearS$500 to 1,500
Mandatory. The cheapest tier is fine for a simple company.
- Accounting and tax, small company, per yearS$900 to 3,000
Transaction volume and whether payroll and GST are included.
- Nominee director, per yearS$1,500 to 5,000
Some providers add a refundable deposit. Falls away once a resident director is in place.
- GST filing, per quarterS$150 to 400
Only once you register. Mandatory above S$1 million in taxable turnover.
Public list prices from the self-serve platforms and managed firms we compare, checked September 2026.
Get your exact numberWhere to switch to.
The switch is where most providers lose a client and where we do not, because we are paid by whichever one you land on. So the advice is only about fit.
A managed corporate services firm
For a company with employees, a pass holder, GST or a parent abroad. Secretary, accounting, tax and the nominee seat in one engagement, with a named person who replies the same day. We name the firm and its current price in your plan.
A self-serve platform
For a simple company that outgrew nothing and just wants to pay less. Secretary from about S$350 a year and accounting from about S$100 a month, with a ticket queue instead of a person.
Switching at all
If the only complaint is price and the difference is a few hundred dollars a year. A month of admin and a handover risk is worth more than that. Ask the current firm to match, and switch if they say no.
How we are paid. The firm you go ahead with pays us a share of its fee. You pay its normal price, the same as going direct. Your plan names the firm and what it pays us.
What we tell people who want to switch.
Give notice now and switch at year end, unless a filing is being missed. The month of notice runs while the old firm finishes the year, and you pay one year-end fee instead of two.
Ask the new firm for a written list of what is included, per year, with the per-item prices. The quote that beats the old one by S$500 and then adds S$150 per GST return and S$200 per ACRA filing has not beaten it.
Get the records before the last invoice is paid in full if you can, and in any case before the old secretary resigns. A company whose registers live in a firm that no longer answers email is the slow version of this story.
What people ask us
Can my old provider refuse to release the records?
The statutory registers, minutes, accounts and tax filings belong to the company, and the firm has to hand them over. It can hold work it has not been paid for. Settle the last invoice, ask in writing, and if it still stalls the new secretary can rebuild the registers from ACRA's records.
Do I have to tell ACRA or IRAS myself?
The new secretary files the change with ACRA. IRAS and the CPF Board need the new contact details updated through their portals, which the new firm usually does with your authorisation. The bank needs a resolution if signatories change.
Can I switch the nominee director on their own?
Yes, though most nominee arrangements come bundled with the secretary, so switching one usually means switching both. The new director consents in writing, the board passes a resolution, and the old director resigns on the same day so the company is never without a resident director.
How long does it take?
A week for the paperwork if everyone signs promptly, and the ACRA filing is same-day. The month of notice is the long part. Getting the accounting records back can take longer if the old firm is slow, which is often why you are leaving.
Is it worth switching from a platform to a firm?
When the company has staff, a pass holder, GST or a question nobody on the platform can answer. A platform is the right price for a simple company and the wrong shape for a complicated one. The move is the same mechanics as any other switch.
Tell us who does your books now and what they charge. We'll tell you whether to move, and where.
Two minutes on the form. A written plan within one business day with a read on the current quote and the firm we would move you to.