# The ROI of automating corporate secretarial work (2026)

> A transparent business case for a Singapore CSP: how the hours-saved calculation works, a worked example for a mid-size firm, the real switching costs, and a decision checklist — with the same numbers as our live pricing calculator.

_Updated 2026-07-11_

Source: /resources/roi-business-case

**In short:** A firm running ~90 filings and resolutions a month saves around 30+ hours — roughly a full working week of a secretary’s time — versus doing them by hand. At S$25/hour that is about S$769 of staff time a month, several times the subscription, before counting a single avoided late-filing penalty. Run your own numbers on the live calculator.

## How the calculation actually works

The business case for automating corporate-secretarial work is simple arithmetic, and we show our working so you can check it. It compares the staff time a task takes by hand with the time it takes to confirm an AI draft, priced at a staff cost.

The formula our pricing calculator uses:

- Hours saved per month = filings per month × (minutes by hand − minutes to confirm) ÷ 60.
- Minutes by hand: around 22 per filing or resolution (draft, cross-check, assemble) — adjustable on the calculator.
- Minutes to confirm: about 1.5 per item, because the AI drafts and you review rather than author.
- Value of time: hours saved × S$25/hour, a conservative loaded staff cost.

## A worked example for a mid-size firm

Take the calculator’s default: a firm managing 60 companies that produces about 90 filings and resolutions a month, at ~22 minutes each by hand.

| Input | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Companies managed | 60 |
| Filings & resolutions / month | 90 |
| Minutes per item, by hand | ~22 |
| Minutes per item, confirming an AI draft | ~1.5 |
| Hours saved / month | ≈ 30+ (about 31) |
| Value of that time @ S$25/hr | ≈ S$769 / month |
| CorpSec AI plan (Growth) | S$179 / month |
| Return on the subscription | ≈ 4× — before any avoided penalty |

## The number we don’t put in the calculator

The 4× figure above counts only staff time. It deliberately leaves out the largest downside risk in CSP work: missed statutory deadlines. A single late Annual Return or overlooked filing can attract ACRA penalties and, worse, erode a client relationship you spent years building.

Deadline tracking across the whole book — the part that quietly prevents those penalties — is where the real return often sits. We keep it out of the headline number precisely so the number stays honest and easy to check.

## The costs of switching — stated plainly

A fair business case counts the cost of adopting, not just the savings. For a CSP moving onto a new platform, the real line items are:

- Migration effort. Getting your existing book in. You can import a demo company and add entities today; the full bulk Excel / column-mapping channel for large legacy books is still in build, so budget for that if you are moving hundreds of entities now.
- Team ramp-up. Learning a new workspace. The “AI drafts, you confirm” model is designed to shorten this, but plan for a short adjustment.
- Subscription. From S$49/month (Starter) to S$399/month (Firm), priced per active company. Start free with no credit card.
- Running two systems briefly. Most firms overlap old and new for a cycle. Factor in the short double-cost.

## A decision checklist

Before you commit, work through this. If you can answer yes to most, the business case is likely sound for your firm.

- Do you run enough filings and resolutions a month that 15–20 minutes each adds up to real hours? Run your own numbers.
- Have you had, or narrowly avoided, a missed statutory deadline in the last year?
- Are you re-keying the same client details across multiple documents?
- Do you need CSP Act 2024 KYC (CDD/EDD, screening, periodic review) that spreadsheets can’t give you?
- Can your firm absorb a short migration and ramp-up period this quarter?
- Does per-active-company pricing fit how you bill clients?

## Run your own numbers

The example above is the calculator’s default; your firm’s inputs will differ. The live ROI calculator lets you slide companies, filings and minutes-per-filing to see hours saved, value and return for your book — using exactly the formula above.

To ground the case in what the software actually does today, read what AI actually does for a CSP and the buyer’s checklist.

## Frequently asked questions

### How many hours can a CSP realistically save?

A firm running about 90 filings and resolutions a month saves roughly 30+ hours — close to a full working week of secretarial time — versus doing them by hand. Smaller firms save proportionally less, larger firms more. The live calculator estimates it for your own volumes.

### What staff cost does the calculation assume?

S$25 per hour — a conservative loaded cost for corporate-secretarial staff time in Singapore. You can treat it as a floor; if your fully loaded cost is higher, the return is larger.

### What return on the subscription should I expect?

For the calculator’s mid-size default — 60 companies, ~90 filings a month — the staff-time value is about S$769/month against a S$179 Growth plan, roughly 4× the cost, before counting any avoided late-filing penalty. Your ratio depends on your volumes and plan.

### What is the biggest hidden cost of switching?

Migrating an existing book. The full bulk-import channel for large legacy books is still in build, so if you need to move hundreds of entities immediately, budget for that. You can start free and import a demo company or a few entities today.

## Sources

- [ACRA — Annual filing requirements for local companies](https://www.acra.gov.sg/how-to-guides/filing-annual-returns)
- [ACRA — Corporate Service Providers Act (official page)](https://www.acra.gov.sg/regulations/legislation/corporate-service-providers-act/)

## Related

- [Run the live ROI calculator](/pricing#roi)
- [How to choose CSP compliance software](/resources/csp-software-selection)
- [What AI actually does for a CSP](/resources/ai-opportunity-for-csp)
- [When is the Annual Return due?](/resources/annual-return-filing-singapore)