Xero is a small business accounting software that’s really blown up in popularity in Singapore. That’s largely because of the Xero accounting system PSG, a government grant backed by Enterprise SG. All small business owners who move over to Xero are eligible to apply for the Xero accounting system PSG grant which allows them to get a rebate of up to 80% of the cost. This means that you’re getting an 80% discount for using an effective accounting software that’s helping you save time and resources!
Why is the government doing this?
Like with all government grants, the accounting PSG Grant does have a purpose. The Singaporean government wants small businesses to become more efficient. This is because this will help maximise output per person and reduce overall cost by businesses in the economy.
If small businesses continue to do bookkeeping on a physical ledger or an Excel sheet, there’s a lot of potential for human error. In addition, this will result in thousands of dollars of bookkeeping expenses since there are countless hours of manual bookkeeping and data entry. This isn’t efficient and this isn’t beneficial for the economy.
Therefore, the government is giving small business owners the push to act now and change their accounting system by offering an attractive grant. This also helps the local economy since more accountants and accounting firms are joining the industry since there’s an increase in demand.
But do note that the accounting PSG Grant is only for pre-approved accounting firms. This means that freelance accounting firms can’t just register a legal entity and be eligible to provide their services at the 80% rebate.
But I don’t know how to use Xero
One great thing about Xero is that there’s a ton of resources available. There are countless Youtube online Xero courses and Xero has an online community called Xero Central! Reddit is also full with hundreds of accountants who work with Xero on the day-to-day and are more than happy to lend a helping hand.
In addition, there are many online Xero courses and in-person training schools. Because of Covid, a lot of schools have transitioned to online Xero courses on Zoom. All the materials can be found online on the training school’s LMS and you can even go to the school in-person if you have any urgent problems.
The PSG Grant even includes paying and rebating you for the cost of attending an online Xero course. So you don’t have to worry about being stuck with an unfamiliar accounting system that you can’t use.
Xero can also help generate monthly or quarterly reports, which are much more useful compared to annual financial reports that often don’t give you enough real-time information to make effective changes to your business.
