Singapore GST & InvoiceNow
GST and InvoiceNow Support for Singapore Businesses
Two compliance topics come up in almost every Singapore accounting software conversation: how the platform handles GST, and whether it works with InvoiceNow. Aelstrom supports both — this page explains how each works in practice.
Structured e-invoice into the buyer's system — not a PDF into an inbox
The GST treatments you actually deal with
Singapore GST is not one rate applied to everything. You work with standard-rated supplies, zero-rated supplies such as exports, exempt supplies, and out-of-scope transactions. Each needs the correct treatment on the invoice line, and that treatment decides what appears on your GST return.
Aelstrom attaches tax codes to items, customers, and suppliers, so the correct treatment defaults rather than being chosen from memory each time. Where a customer is overseas and the supply qualifies as zero-rated, the code follows the customer record. Getting this right at entry is what makes the return straightforward later.
Standard-rated supplies
Domestic sales of goods and services that carry GST at the prevailing rate. The code sits on the item or the customer, so the invoice line is already correct before you review it.
Zero-rated supplies and exports
Exports and qualifying international services carry GST at 0%. The code follows the customer record, so a repeat overseas buyer is not re-coded on every invoice.
Exempt supplies
Categories such as certain financial services and the sale or lease of residential property. Exempt supplies still need a code so they land in the right part of the return.
Out-of-scope transactions
Transactions outside the scope of GST altogether. Marking them clearly keeps them out of the return instead of quietly inflating a category.
GST F5 filing and what feeds it
GST F5 filing is the reporting step, and it is one of the clearest practical requirements for Singapore SMEs using accounting software. The return asks for totals by category: standard-rated supplies, zero-rated supplies, exempt supplies, and the corresponding input tax.
Aelstrom produces a GST summary from the ledger for the period you select. Because the tax codes were set at entry, the summary is a report rather than a manual exercise. You or your tax agent review the figures, and the underlying transactions are there to check if a number looks off.
If a figure needs explaining, the summary links back to the ledger lines behind it. That is the practical difference between preparing a return and re-deriving one from receipts at the end of the quarter.
The F5 return asks for totals by category. The coding work happens on the invoice line, months earlier.
Compatibility is a core buying criterion for Singapore SMEs. If your software cannot issue an InvoiceNow e-invoice, you cannot join the network — whatever else the platform does.
What InvoiceNow changes about invoicing
InvoiceNow is Singapore's e-invoicing network. Instead of sending a PDF and hoping the other side keys it in correctly, an invoice is transmitted as structured data that lands directly in the buyer's system. Fewer transcription errors, faster approval, and a cleaner record on both sides.
The benefit is not just speed. Because the data arrives already structured, the buyer's accounting system can post it without re-entry, and both parties end the month looking at the same invoice rather than two versions of it.
How an InvoiceNow invoice moves through Aelstrom
You create the invoice as normal, with the customer record and line items. Where the customer is on the network, the invoice is issued as a structured e-invoice rather than a PDF. The record stays in your ledger as a receivable, exactly as a conventional invoice would.
When payment arrives, it reconciles against that invoice through the bank feed. The accounting treatment is unchanged; only the delivery format differs. That is the point — compliance should not require a separate process bolted onto your bookkeeping.
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Step 1
Create the invoice
Customer record and line items, the same as any invoice you have always written.
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Step 2
Issue as structured data
Where the buyer is on the network, the invoice travels as an e-invoice, not a PDF.
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Step 3
Hold it as a receivable
The ledger entry is unchanged. Only the delivery format differs from a conventional invoice.
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Step 4
Reconcile on payment
When the money lands, the bank feed matches it to that same invoice.
Keeping records that hold up
IRAS expects records that support what you filed. In practice that means being able to trace a figure on the return back to the transactions behind it. Aelstrom keeps invoices, bills, credit notes, and their tax treatments in the ledger, with an audit trail of who entered and changed what.
If a query arrives months later about a specific period, you can pull the transactions for that period and see the coding. That is a faster answer than searching through archived spreadsheets, and it is the version of the record your accountant can act on.
Working with an accountant or tax agent
Many Singapore SMEs file through an accounting firm rather than in-house. Aelstrom lets you give your accountant access to review the ledger and reports, so they work from the same numbers you do rather than a file export and a list of questions.
The GST summary and financial statements are structured for review. Where your accountant wants to adjust a treatment, the change is made in the ledger and the reports update, so there is one version of the truth rather than two.
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Shared ledger access for your accountant, so questions are answered against the live figures.
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GST summaries and statements built to be read and checked, not just printed.
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A change of treatment lands in one place, and every report downstream reflects it.
Questions worth asking before you commit
Ask any provider how they handle zero-rated exports, how a credit note affects a previously filed period, and what happens if a customer joins InvoiceNow midway through the year. The answers tell you whether the platform was built for Singapore compliance or adapted to it.
Exports How does Aelstrom handle zero-rated exports?
The zero-rated code follows the customer record, so a repeat overseas buyer keeps the correct treatment on every invoice without re-coding. You can still override the code on a line where the supply does not qualify, and the GST summary picks up whichever treatment was actually used.
Credit notes What happens when a credit note affects a period you already filed?
The credit note is recorded in the period it belongs to, with its own tax treatment, and it flows into the GST summary for that period. If the original return is already submitted, the adjustment shows up in the current period rather than rewriting history — which is the trail an IRAS query expects to see.
Mid-year A customer joins InvoiceNow partway through the year. Now what?
Invoices issued before they joined remain conventional records in your ledger. From the point they are on the network, new invoices for that customer are issued as structured e-invoices. You do not re-issue history, and your ledger stays continuous across the switch.
Support Can I reach someone if a GST question lands near a filing deadline?
Aelstrom supports customers by phone and email during Singapore business hours, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. When a GST question comes up close to a filing deadline, being able to reach someone who understands the workflow matters more than reading a knowledge base article. Call +65 6823 8741 or email [email protected].
A note on scope
Aelstrom handles GST treatment, GST F5 reporting support, and InvoiceNow e-invoicing. It does not file on your behalf with IRAS, and it does not provide tax advice. Those remain your responsibility or your tax agent's.
What the platform does is keep the records and coding in a state where filing and review are straightforward. That is a narrower promise than some vendors make, and it is the one we can stand behind.
Talk to the Aelstrom team about GST and InvoiceNow setup
Tell us how you invoice today, which customers are already on InvoiceNow, and how your GST returns are currently prepared. We will walk through the tax-code setup, the F5 summary, and what your accountant will see in the ledger.
Contact Aelstrom
Aelstrom Pte. Ltd.
1 Raffles Place, #20-61 One Raffles Place
Singapore 048616
+65 6823 8741
[email protected]
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Singapore time)
Contact the Aelstrom team