28 June 2007 1610 hrs (SST)
SINGAPORE : Two hundred Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have signed up for the GST Assistance Scheme.
SPRING Singapore expects more to do so when the GST hike takes effect in July.
It has set aside $30 million under the scheme to help SMEs register for GST and also adjust to the new 7% GST over the next two years.
But thousands of SMEs are still taking a wait-and-see approach.
MYOB Asia has developed a cheap and efficient way for other SMEs to keep their books in order when they register for GST.
"Registering for GST and then being able to efficiently calculate your payments can actually provide more revenue or less tax payment for the company. So a company that has not previously registered for GST is paying a lot of GST on their inputs, but not recovering that on their output," explains Paul Jennings, GM of MYOB Asia.
One SME – Tivo Technologies - is already seeing benefits of GST registration after adopting the software.
For the past two years, it has been absorbing the 5% GST.
But it won't be feasible for it to absorb the full 7% GST from July 1.
It registered as a GST company and found it can also move away from the simple spreadsheet way of keeping track of their accounts.
The new accounting software is helping it take care of the books, inventory system and payroll - essentially managing the back-end office.
With the software, companies like Tivo Technologies can concentrate on running its core business.
"We can easily shave at least a week's work every month. For our business, we print a lot of invoices. Now the invoice printing is automated, and everything else is automated," says Paul Ong, business manager at Tivo Technologies.
GST calculations are done with just a few clicks. A month into the new software, the company is already charting new directions.
"This software allows us to do a lot of data mining and business intelligence. I can know who my top 10 customers are and my top 10 selling products. With this, I can plan my business better, allocate my resources to key customers to generate more revenue and income from there," says Ong.
Tivo Technologies estimates it could save at least thousands if not more by registering as a GST company and by adopting a new technology.
Even though it has not reached the million dollar revenue mark, the growing company believes it will get there in a few years. - CNA /ls
Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/284985/1/.html
www.gstassist.sg
