Based on SPRING's definition, local SMEs are entities with:

1. at least 30 per cent local shareholding
   
2. no more than S$15m in fixed assets
   
3. no more than 200 employees (for SMEs in the non-manufacturing sectors)
   
   

IDA provides assistance in the form of different initiatives under the Infocomm@SME Programme:

• The SME Infocomm Package (SIP) initiative, launched on 17 June 2008, allows SMEs to purchase affordable infocomm packages bundled with one-stop support.
  
  
• The SME Infocomm Resource Centre (SIRC) at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce &Industry and the Singapore Polytechnic provide advisory and consultancy services, with advisory services starting from as low as S$5.
  
  
• The SME Domain Name Reservation (SDR) initiative, implemented by IDA in partnership with SGNIC and ACRA, allows businesses to enjoy a discount of up to S$30 for the first year, if they are registering their first domain name. This is to encourage SMEs to set up their web presence to reach out to their customers globally.
  
  
• IDA is also working with SPRING to offer grants under the Technology Innovation Programme (TIP), to encourage SMEs to adopt infocomm innovatively in order to grow their business.
  

First of all, SMEs need to know how they intend to grow their business and what they will need to do to achieve this. With this information, government agencies approached by the SME can then recommend the most appropriate scheme.

SPRING has comprehensive programmes covering many aspects of SME development such as manpower, while IDA specialises in infocomm support. If SMEs want to find out how they can leverage infocomm for growth, they email approach IDA at info@ida.gov.sg

SMEs are encouraged to visit any one of the enterprise development centres located at various trade associations such as SCCCI, SICCI, SMCCI, SMA AND ASME or email EnterpriseOne at enterpriseone@spring.gov.sg if they need assistance.

SMEs that are currently using any accounting software or system, or have already enjoyed subsidies or grants for purchase, implementation and use of any accounting software, will not be eligible for this scheme. The scheme aims to encourage as many SMEs without accounting software to acquire such software to improve their financial and book-keeping/record-keeping practices.

The scheme supports only accounting software listed in IRAS’ Accounting Software Register. Such software can be:

• User-Owned / 'Out-of-Box' type of software; OR
  
  
• Pay-per-use / Subscription-based type of software - For pay-per-use / subscription-based type of software, the scheme supports up to 50% of the monthly subscription cost incurred, for up to 12 months of use/subscription, subject to a total subsidy cap of S$1,500 (including costs for installation/deployment and training if applicable).

The software listed in IRAS Accounting Software Register have been declared (by the software owners) to be compliant with IRAS' e-Tax guide, and hence are suitable for SMEs to use to improve their financial and book-keeping practices, facilitate and enhance the accuracy of their financial reporting.

IRAS is open to listing more software on their Accounting Software Register and any software vendor who is interested to list their software on the Register can visit IRAS' website for more information.

Upon full submission of the completed application form and the required supporting documents, IDA will evaluate and process the application in 2-4 weeks time.

The following supporting documents must be submitted:

• Completed application form signed off by the Applicant Company
  
  
• Latest ACRA business registration record of:
  
  
  • Applicant Company
    
    
  • Corporate Shareholders (if corporate shareholders hold 20% or more of the total shareholding)
    
    
  • Subsidiary Companies (if Applicant Company holds more than 50% of the shareholding in the Subsidiary Company)
  
  
• Latest audited financial statement (not more than 1 year ago) OR management accounts (not more than 1 year ago, signed off by the Director of the Applicant Company) if audited financial statements are not available.
  
  
• A copy of the vendor's quotation for any installation/deployment and training services for the accounting software acquired under this scheme, if the Applicant Company is applying for support for the installation/deployment and training.

Before the purchase of the accounting software, you need to fill up the application form and send the signed application form, together with the required supporting documents, to IDA at:

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
8 Temasek Boulevard #14-00
Suntec Tower 3
Singapore 038988
Attention: Administrator, SME Infocomm Enabler Division

Upon receipt of the documents, IDA will evaluate and process the application. You may then proceed to purchase the software after you receive IDA's reply.

Upon approval of your application, you will receive a Letter of Offer (LOF) from IDA.

The subsidy is on a reimbursement basis in which you will have to incur the costs and submit the necessary invoices and documents to IDA for the costs to be reimbursed.

You need to submit the following supporting documents for subsidy reimbursement:

• Copy of invoices and receipts issued by the vendor for the accounting software and the one-time costs for deployment/ installation and training services;
  
  
• Copy of bank statement of Applicant Company (showing clearance of company cheques or payment transfers to the vendor);
  
  
• Copy of email acknowledgement from IRAS stating the IRAS Audit File (IAF) for one GST prescribed accounting period within the Qualifying Period has been successfully received and is in order; and
  
  
• Completed Direct Credit Authorisation form (on the 1^st claim)

IRAS Audit File or IAF is a data file containing a standard set of accounting information for a specified period. The IAF ensures that the information transmitted from businesses to IRAS is complete, accurate and readable by IRAS thereby reducing audit turnaround time and compliance cost. All accounting software listed in IRAS' Accounting Software Register allows the user to generate IAF easily.

You should receive the email acknowledgement from IRAS within 3 working days, provided that the IAF has been successfully received by IRAS and is in order.

"GST Prescribed Accounting Period" refers to the period covered by the GST return. The standard period is 3 months. Some businesses may have opted for monthly or half-yearly GST prescribed accounting period depending on their business needs.

This is a guide written for software developers, which can be found here. In this guide, IRAS has recommended a set of principles that software developers should endeavour to comply. It also carries technical details of IRAS Audit File (IAF). IAF is a standard electronic file that IRAS would request from businesses from time to time for the purpose of audit.

Accounting software vendors may apply to IRAS to list its software in IRAS' Accounting Software Register if its software can comply with the requirements set out in the e-Tax Guide. Please refer to Information for Accounting Software Developers for more information on the guide and the application procedures.

The SME Infocomm Package (SIP) is an initiative to help SMEs seek advice on how to introduce infocomm technology into their business, purchase affordable infocomm solutions packaged according to their business needs, and enjoy one-stop support from the three consortia (Please refer to Qn 5 below) who are part of this IDA-led programme.

The purchase will be subsidised if this is the first time the SME is developing a web presence for its business. The subsidy is available to 5,000 SMEs on a first-come-first-served basis.

The SIP will be available until 30 April 2010. An extension may be considered if there is sufficient demand from the SMEs.

Your business qualifies for the subsidy if you meet ALL the criteria below:

1. You are a local SME.
   
2. You do not already own a website.
   
3. Your purchase includes the development of a website for your business.
   
4. You have not made a previous claim under this initiative.
   

The subsidy covers any of the items below, capped at S$1,000 per SME:

1. 50 per cent of monthly broadband subscription charges for 12 months,
   
2. 50 per cent of monthly hosting and maintenance costs for the website for 12 months, and
   
3. 80 per cent of web development efforts.
   

For (a) and (b), SME must sign a contract for at least 12 months.

The three "SIP companies" that have been pre-qualified by IDA are:

• DP Bureau Pte Ltd (www.dpbureau.sg)
  
• iCELL Network Pte Ltd (www.icellwireless.net/sme)
  
• SingTel (www.singtel.com/sme/idasip)
  

For detailed contact information, please click here.

The subsidy is meant to encourage SMEs who are currently without a web presence to set up a website. If you already have a web presence, you will not be eligible for the subsidy, but you can still enjoy other attractive offers under SIP, including the discounted infocomm packages and one-stop support when you buy from the SIP companies.

You can approach any of the SIP companies pre-qualified by IDA. The SIP companies will help to assess your eligibility for the subsidy. If you qualify, they will offer you the relevant infocomm packages at the subsidised rates.

The subsidy is available only through companies pre-qualified by IDA.

If you need a customised package to meet a specific business need, you can specify your requirements in a face-to-face consultation with any of the SIP companies. Customisation of any off-the-shelf software will be charged on a per project basis.

Yes, the consortia will minimally be able to cater to English, Chinese and Malay-speaking business owners.

The SME Domain Name Reservation (SDR) service allows SMEs who are registering their business with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s (ACRA) BizFile system (www.bizfile.gov.sg) to reserve a ".sg" or ".com.sg" domain name (web address) at the same time.

No fee is charged for reserving a domain name via ACRA's BizFile system.

To use the domain name, however, you will need to "activate" the reserved domain name with a registrar accredited by the Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC), which provides Internet registry and information services in Singapore.

Registration fees currently range from S$39 to S$84. SMEs who are setting up their website for the first time can save up to S$30 from their first-year registration fee when they sign up with any of the seven SGNIC-accredited registrars participating in this initiative. Please approach any of the participating registrars with your business/company ACRA registration number to qualify for the discount.

The participating registrars also offer related value-added services such as web and email hosting. In fact, seven of the registrars are offering free domain name registration for the first year:

• Adicio Pte Ltd;
  
• Cybersite Pte Ltd;
  
• IP Mirror Pte Ltd;
  
• NewMedia Express Pte Ltd;
  
• Vooju Pte Ltd;
  
• Web Commerce Communications (Singapore) Pte Ltd; and
  
• Webvisions Pte Ltd.
  

For the contact details of the above registrars and other participating registrars, click here. For queries, you can contact the SGNIC hotline: +65 6774 0479 or email sme@sgnic.sg.

The discount will be made available until 31 December 2010. IDA and SGNIC reserve the right to change the validity date. The initiative will then be assessed if Government support is still required beyond that.

Existing SMEs without a web presence can also benefit from this initiative.

Your domain name should relate to the name of your business entity, business activity, product or brand name. Your domain name is also your branding and marketing tool. It should be easy to remember and not easily confused or misspelled. Some examples are "dell.com.sg" (for DELL products/services), "apple.com.sg" (for APPLE products/services), "toyrus.com.sg" (for Toys.R.Us) and "gv.com.sg" (for Golden Village Cinemas).

You can reserve a domain name (ending with ".com.sg" or ".sg") when you register a business, company or limited liability partnership in Singapore using ACRA's BizFile system.

Upon successfully registering and paying for your business/company registration, you will be immediately shown the option of reserving a domain name. To reserve a domain name:

1. Check if the domain name you want (ending with ".com.sg" or ".sg") is still available for use.
   

If it is still available, you will need to provide your name, contact number and email address to confirm the reservation request. SGNIC will use this information to contact you should SGNIC require any clarification.

Once you have successfully reserved your domain name on the BizFile system, you will need to "activate" your domain name with any of the participating registrars.

You can only reserve one domain name for each business, company or limited liability partnership that you register in Singapore using ACRA's BizFile system.

Your domain name will be reserved for three months. You may approach your preferred registrar during this period to activate the reserved domain name. If the reservation period has ended and you have not activated the reserved domain name, that domain name will be available for registration/reservation by any other party.

If you wish to, you can still approach any of the participating registrars to register for the same domain name (if it is not already used by another party) or a new domain name. For queries, you can contact the SGNIC hotline: (65) 6774 0479 or email sme@sgnic.sg.

No, the ".org.sg" domain name is applicable only for societies registered with the Registry of Societies. This programme is targeted at entities registered with ACRA only.

You can find out through the "Online Who is" search on SGNIC's website (sgnic.sg). The "Creation Date" will show the date when the domain name was first reserved. The reservation period will end three months from the "Creation Date". Alternatively, you may approach any of the participating registrars or contact the SGNIC hotline: (65) 6774 0479 or email sme@sgnic.sg to find out if the reservation period for your domain name has ended.

No, there will be no penalty payment.

The SME Infocomm Resource Centres (SIRC) are non-profit entities where SMEs can learn more about infocomm technologies and help them jumpstart innovation. The SIRCs provide advice on infocomm usage and technical resources to encourage SMEs use infocomm in their businesses.

There are currently two SIRCs - one located at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the other at the Singapore Polytechnic. Please click here for detailed contact information.

The workshops or technology learning sessions offered by both SIRCs will be charged at a nominal fee depending on the services required. Some activities, such as business clinic sessions or simple advice, may also be offered free-of-charge.

For the consultancy services offered by SIRC@SP (e.g. website prototype), SMEs will be charged on a per project basis and the costs will depend on the complexity of the user requirements.

You may visit the SIRCs' websites for the course schedule, register online, by phone or by email to the respective centres. The websites for the two centres are:

SIRC@SCCCI - www.sccci.org.sg/sirc

SIRC@SP - www.sp.edu.sg/sirc