Singapore Construction Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks: GST and Retentions

Singapore construction is lighter on tax machinery than the UK, no Construction Industry Scheme and no reverse charge, but a generic QuickBooks chart still misses the parts that matter: GST applies to every job, retentions need their own accounts, plant runs through capital allowances, and a private car is a blocked cost. This is a Singapore construction chart of accounts built for QuickBooks Online, with the GST codes mapped to each construction account. It ships as a readable reference (CSV) and a QuickBooks import CSV.

How the structure and the codes split

QuickBooks Online’s chart-of-accounts import has no tax column, so the process is two steps: import the structure with the CSV, then set the GST code on each account from the CSV mapping. For a builder, the accounts where this matters most are the materials line (imported stock uses IM) and the motor vehicle line (a private car uses BL).

GST on all construction

A GST-registered contractor charges 9% on every construction service, residential or not, so the Sales account is mapped to SR (9%). Only the sale or lease of residential property is exempt, not the building work. Construction relating to land outside Singapore can be zero-rated as an international service, so ZR (0%) is listed as the alternative on the sales line. This is the opposite of the assumption many new builders make, that residential work escapes GST.

Retention accounts for progress claims

Construction bills in stages, and money is held back at each stage. The chart adds retention receivable (an asset, amounts customers hold back from you) and retention payable (a liability, amounts you hold back from subcontractors). Both carry OP (0%), because a retention is a timing matter rather than a separate taxable supply. Without them, debtors and creditors are overstated and the cash never reconciles.

Labour, materials, and plant

The chart splits the single subcontractor line into subcontractor labour, materials, and plant and tool hire, plus a plant and machinery fixed asset. The split lets you read job margin and lets materials carry IM (9%) when shipped in and cleared through Customs, while local labour stays on TX (9%) and overseas labour moves to OP (0%). Plant and machinery is capital, deducted through capital allowances rather than the non-deductible depreciation line.

The private-car block in QuickBooks

The one input-tax trap is the company car. GST on commercial vehicles, plant, and materials is claimable on TX (9%); GST on a private S-plate car and its running costs is blocked under Regulation 27 and goes on BL (9%). So the motor vehicle account defaults to TX (9%) for the commercial fleet but lists BL (9%) for the private car.

How to use it

1. Open the CSV: each account is mapped to its QuickBooks GST code, with alternatives and a note. The retention and plant accounts are the construction additions.
2. In QuickBooks Online, go to Settings, then Import data, then Chart of Accounts, and upload the CSV for the structure.
3. After import, set the GST code on each account from the CSV, applying IM (9%) to imported materials and BL (9%) to the private car.
4. Keep each progress claim and its retention on the right accounts so the GST F5 reconciles to the contract value.

The recurring work is keeping each cost coded and classified:

• Dext extracts the GST and supplier from photographed bills.
• ExpenseFlow reads each receipt and bill, codes it to the right construction account with the correct GST treatment including the blocked private car, and posts it into QuickBooks Online, so the handling is applied at capture.
• Financio suits smaller contractors pulling in repeat supplier bills.

On Xero instead? See the Singapore construction chart of accounts for Xero, where the import sets the GST codes directly. For the full GST picture, see the Singapore construction expenses guide.