Jadexpat wrote: ↑Thu, 22 Oct 2020 5:29 pm
Hi all, I've been thinking of starting a dropshipping business in Singapore, however i do not have much knowledge on how to start a business. Really hoping to get some advice.
I read that you have to incorporate your business in order to do a dropshipping business, so i have the following questions:-
1. Is it advisable to use an LLP instead of Pte Ltd? Pte Ltd comes with too many compliance costs (e.g. secretarial and accounting services) while LLP does not require all these. I don't really want to have all these compliance costs when i am not even sure if the business will work.
2. Is it possible to test out and get a few sales first before registering my business, or is that not legal?
3. I am thinking of dropshipping in the US (from US suppliers to US customers). Would there be a requirement to start a company there too?
Thanks in advance
Let's start at the beginning, shall we? I see you are "Jad
expat". Are you a Singapore citizen or PR? If yes, read on. If not, then you have a much more difficult task because not only are you going to form a business, you're going to try and convince the gahmen to give you a work permit for your business. There are hundreds of threads in these forums on trying to get an employment pass for your own startup.
LLP means "limited liability partnership". If there is only one of you, then you cannot form a LLP. Your only choices are pte ltd or a sole proprietorship. And if you're not a citizen or PR, then pte ltd is probably the only way you'll ever get to a work permit.
You must be registered in order to operate a business. You cannot open a bank account without a registration, and that means you cannot accept payments in the name of a company. In short, step 1 in any business is to become legally registered.
US taxation is complex and no definitive answer can be given with the limited information you have supplied. But, in general, if you have no US employees, and no US presence, you will not pay US taxes. You can sell directly to end customers, either other retailers or end users. You can sell into distributors who handle distribution, warranty services, etc. Beyond this, your exact proposal for selling and payments would need to be known.