You can change payroll provider at any point in the year. The difficulty is that several calculations depend on the whole calendar year, not just the months we run. We take over from your previous provider or your in-house team, rebuild the year to date, and carry on from the next pay run.
Last reviewed 15 October 2026.
Why the year to date matters
Three things in payroll look back over the year:
- Bonuses. CPF on Additional Wages is limited by a ceiling of S$102,000 less the employee’s ordinary wages subject to CPF for the year. A new provider that only sees the months it runs will get the ceiling wrong.
- Year-end AIS submission. The employer submits each employee’s income for the whole calendar year to IRAS by 1 March, if the company is in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme. That includes the months before the takeover.
- CPF and SDL history. Payment status for every earlier month needs to be confirmed, because late payment carries interest of 1.5% a month with a minimum of S$5.
What we need from your previous provider or HR
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Payroll register for each month this year | Rebuild year-to-date wages per employee |
| CPF and SDL computed and paid, by month | Confirm nothing is outstanding and carry the totals forward |
| Employee master list: date of birth, NRIC or pass, bank, salary, start date | Right age band and pass status |
| Bonuses, commissions, allowances and benefits paid so far, including anything outside payroll | Additional Wage ceiling and AIS |
| Leave balances and any deductions or loans | Payslips continue accurately |
| Pending leavers and foreign staff on passes | IR21 and levy tracking; see IR21 services |
| Payslip template in use | Keep the same itemised format; see payslip requirements |
If the records are incomplete, we work from payslips, bank statements and CPF Board’s records for the company, and list what we could not confirm.
How a takeover runs
- Agree the start month and cut-off date with you and the outgoing provider.
- Collect the handover pack above.
- Rebuild year to date. We set each employee’s wages, CPF and SDL by month, and check them against what was paid.
- Reconcile. We compare the CPF and SDL totals with the payments made, and the payroll cost with your books. Differences are listed for you to approve.
- Parallel check. We calculate the first month and compare it with what the previous provider would have produced for unchanged staff.
- Go live from the agreed pay run, with payslips in the same itemised format.
- Year end. We prepare the AIS submission for the full year, using the rebuilt records.
Example (fictional)
Willow Bay Pte Ltd switches provider from 1 July. One employee, aged 40, earns S$8,000 a month, so ordinary wages subject to CPF for the full year are S$96,000. In December, the company pays a S$20,000 bonus.
| Correct year-to-date data | Only the months we run | |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary wages subject to CPF used | S$96,000 (S$48,000 before takeover + S$48,000 after) | S$48,000 |
| Additional Wage ceiling | S$6,000 | S$54,000 |
| Bonus counted for CPF | S$6,000 | S$20,000 |
| Employer + employee CPF on the bonus (17% + 20%) | S$2,220 | S$7,400 |
Working from the second column would overpay CPF by S$5,180 on this one employee. This is why we rebuild the year before the first pay run.
Questions we get asked
Can we switch in the middle of the year? Yes. The work is in the handover and the year-to-date rebuild.
Does the company need a new CPF Submission Number? The company’s own CPF arrangements continue because the employer is unchanged. We will confirm your submission details with you at the start.
What if the old provider’s records are poor? We rebuild from payslips, bank records and CPF records and give you a list of items we could not confirm.
Will staff see any change? Payslips stay itemised. We tell you before anything changes in format or timing.
Can you take over only part of the year, such as from the December bonus run? Yes, but the rebuild is still needed, since the bonus ceiling uses the whole year’s wages.
Sources
- CPF Board: Additional Wage ceiling guidance (formula; examples from 2023)
- CPF Board: how much CPF contributions to pay and late-payment interest
- IRAS: Auto-Inclusion Scheme
- MOM: itemised payslips
General information, not professional advice for your specific situation.
Switching payroll provider?
Tell us when you want to switch, how many employees you have and what records you can get from your current provider. We will confirm what the handover needs. Talk to us about taking over your payroll.