Cutting costs and time: How these SMEs beat paperwork hassle to focus on their business

When Mr Aaron Lim co-founded his technology startup back in 2018, the last things on his mind were the administrative tasks he needed to carry out to set up the company. One of the topmost things on his long to-do list was to get his company's software, which helps customers manage their sales leads easily, up and running.

Just as important, however, was the need to get his company, Privyr, incorporated in Singapore, as well as administrative tasks such as appointing a corporate secretary and an accountant.

For these, he turned to Sleek, a homegrown corporate services company that has helped other small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to register their businesses, manage their accounting and file paperwork that is usually done by a company secretary.

The Sleek process does away with many of the tasks that older service providers require because it is all digital based. Being more streamlined, Sleek helps SMEs save cost and time as well.

Essentially, what it does is smoothen many of the processes needed to get a company off the ground, including tasks like setting up a bank account and filing one's annual returns to the tax authorities.

Today, Sleek has more than 6,000 customers around the world, with more companies jumping onboard, including from Australia and the UK.

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Focusing on your business

Mr Lim, Privyr's chief executive officer, says: "Sleek's fully digital approach has allowed us to focus on improving our product and delighting our customers, while letting Sleek take care of everything else from accounting to annual filings."

"We have been customers (with Sleek) for more than three years, and there hasn't been anything we couldn't handle via the Sleek website and a couple of emails. I've never had to have a face-to-face meeting with them to get things done."

Sleek was originally started in 2017 by Mr Julien Labruyere and Mr Adrien Barthel, who experienced many of the same challenges that their current customers face while setting up a business in Singapore. In 2017, the two entrepreneurs had wanted to set up a company but found that they had to get several administrative checkboxes ticked first.

Despite Singapore's business-friendly environment, they found that there was still a fair amount of preparation required beforehand - such as hiring someone to carry out the secretary services or keep the accounts up to date.

Their idea was for an all-in-one digital platform that could take on these tasks in a streamlined manner. It would make the administrative processes less challenging for SMEs that usually do not have dedicated employees or the funds to hire headcounts for these jobs.

Today, an entrepreneur could incorporate a company in Singapore remotely through Sleek. Filing requests to the company secretary any time of the day, and even sign documents digitally with SleekSign, Sleek's eSignature tool, for contracts and other documents.

In other words, no more lugging one's documents to the bank or accountant's office. Or having to sign a paper contract, scan, and send it over email.

Access to critical services

Am:EL's founder and owner Amanda Kim Woo. Photo: Am:EL

Ms Amanda Kim Woo, who runs Am:EL, a fashion brand, is one entrepreneur who managed to set up her business in Singapore easily with Sleek.

"Setting up a company is a daunting process on its own," she says. "However, trying to incorporate a company as foreigners meant more challenges, extra documentation and approvals and no doubt, additional fees.

"Sleek, off the bat, provided solutions, alternatives, strategies to work through these difficult steps with such depth of knowledge and care."

Crucial to her was the ease of access to the documentation, accounting services and opening of bank accounts that come with starting a business in Singapore.

During the incorporation process, her business partner in Korea could sign legal documents with a few clicks and send it over to Sleek quickly.

She notes, "If she had to provide hard copy signatures (as some agencies would require), especially during the Covid-19 period, it would have been a total nightmare!"

What she also appreciated was the ease of setting up a bank account, through Sleek's own digital business account services, which are available to businesses that incorporate through Sleek.

This means they do not have to open a new local bank account and worry about the opening fees involved, along with the administrative hassle.

For Ms Woo, this helped overcome a "huge challenge" to opening a business account here in Singapore. She explains, "As we already had an existing rapport built, the process of opening the Sleek business account was so much easier than it was with other banks."

Using technology to improve

Noodle Factory's founder and chief executive officer Yvonne Soh. Photo: Noodle Factory

Yet another client of Sleek is Ms Yvonne Soh, the founder and chief executive officer of Noodle Factory, an online portal that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to tutor students and prepare them for exams.

In particular, the Sleek platform has helped her company with accounting as she has not hired someone to do that full-time. Ms Soh shares, "We'd worked with other accountancy services but frankly, we were not keen on having to sign physical copies of documents and on top of that, having to keep the documents. This is what made us look at Sleek."

As a technology company, she said Noodle Factory always believed that technology should make things easier, better, and more efficient.

Indeed, for many SMEs, the digital route is now a good way to cut to the chase and get things done quickly, with minimum fuss, according to Sleek. In doing so, they can concentrate on running their business without being distracted by administrative paperwork, it added.

Advises Ms Woo, of Am:EL: "You already have a handful on your plate when you are looking to run your own business. So, make sure you have a trusted, knowledgeable, and responsive team, like Sleek, to help you during that entire journey."

For more information about Sleek's services, visit their website at https://bit.ly/SleekxBT.