General 1. What are the pre-requisites for using FTP Mode? 2. What are the operating hours for the service?   Registration 1. How do I apply to e-submit via FTP Mode? 2. Who can I contact if I need help in completing the forms? 3. How would I know if my application is successful? 4. Can I apply for more than one mode of submission?   Security 1. What happens if I forget to logout after using Employer Returns service? 2. How can I add/delete staff accesses? 3. What is the difference between the System Administrator and Editor? 4. Can I get a corporate SingPass for my company?   Submission of Contribution Details 1. What types of files are acceptable? 2. Is there a limit on the file size for each submission? 3. If I have more than one employer reference number, can I use this service? 4. I am using my own payroll software. How do I submit my e-submission files to the CPF Board? 5. What are Advice Codes for and how do I use them? 6. Can I submit more than 1 file per employer reference number in a day? 7. If I have multiple employer reference numbers, can I submit them all in the same file? 8. If I have already submitted a file, can I request to over-ride it with a new file? 9. What happens if I forget to discard the original file before sending a new file? 10. When will the submitted file be processed? 11. Will there be any acknowledgement for the file transmitted? 12. What happens if the file I have transmitted is not in the correct layout? 13. Will there be any difference in the grace period? 14. Will I receive a Record of Payment? 15. What is the difference between the Test and Live status for e-submission? 16. I’ve checked to ensure that I am using the latest version of Auto-eXcel, yet I keep getting an error message that my file is created using an incorrect version. 17. Why do I keep getting a file extension error when trying to perform e-submission? 18. The website “hangs” after I key in my SingPass. 19. The website “hangs” after keying in my SingPass ID. 20. I’ve forgotten my Auto-eXcel password. How can I reset it? 21. I have downloaded and installed the latest version of Auto-eXcel over the previous version, but my previously keyed templates are missing. 22. I am getting an “invalid file layout” error when performing e-submission. 23. I have just performed Test Submission. When will I be notified of the result? 24. How do I delete my old templates? 25. I am not receiving notifications in my email for my Test / Live e-submissions. 26. Does Auto-eXcel compute annual wage ceiling capping?   Mode of Payment 1. Must payment be made through GIRO only? Can we pay by cheque? 2. What are the GIRO Deduction Options available?   Usage 1. What version of web browser does this service support? 2. What browser settings are required to use this service?       General   1) What are the pre-requisites for using FTP Mode?     1) SingPass (don’t have one?) 2) A computer with internet access (don’t have one?) 3) An email address 4) Approved mode of payment (GIRO/Internet Banking) 5) Registered user with CPF Board for FTP Mode (not registered?)     2) What are the operating hours for the service?     This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including public holidays.         Registration   1) How do I apply to e-submit via FTP Mode?     To register for the service, please register online or fill up a registration form and send or fax the completed form to:   Central Provident Fund Board 79 Robinson Road CPF Building Singapore 068897 #33-00 Electronic Submission Section Fax : 6229 3499     2) Who can I contact if I need help in completing the registration form?     You can contact the Electronic Submission Section at 6220 2340 for assistance.     3) How would I know if my application is successful?     You will be notified once your application form has been processed. An approval letter will be issued upon successful Quality Assurance Testing and approval of your GIRO application. You may then proceed to submit your CPF contribution details via this service.     4) Can I apply for more than one mode of submission?     At any one time, you can only be registered to use one mode of submission. To change from one mode to another, you can write-in to terminate the current mode and submit a fresh registration form to use another mode.         Security   1) What happens if I forgot to logout after using the Employer Returns service?     To protect the confidentiality of the CPF contribution details, please remember to logout when you have completed the submissions. However, if you have forgotten to do so, the service will automatically shut down after a short while.     2) How can I add/delete staff accesses?   The Administrator for your company can login to our website to delete staff accesses, and to update company particulars and email addresses. If you wish to add staff accesses, please fill up the Addition/Deletion of Staff Accesses request form, or you can fax a hardcopy to 6229 3499. 3) What is the difference between the System Administrator and Editor?   The System Administrator’s role is to maintain the staff accesses (deletion only) and update the particulars by logging into our website (such as update change of contact person, telephone number and email address). The System Administrator cannot submit the CPF contribution details, only the Editor is able to do so. However, it is possible for the same person to hold both roles. 4) Can I get a corporate SingPass for my company?   For security purposes, we do not issue SingPass for corporate use. Staff transacting online on behalf of the company will have to use his/her own SingPass.         Submission of Contribution Details   1) What kind of files are acceptable?     Only text files which end with a ".dtl", ".txt" or ".dat" extension are acceptable.     2) Is there a limit on the file size for each submission?     For better performance, we have limited the file size to 2 mega-bytes. You will not be able to send the file if this file size limit is exceeded.           3) If I have more than one employer reference number, can I use this service?     Yes, you can. There is no limit on the number of employer reference numbers. However, you must apply for GIRO for each employer reference number. For a copy of the GIRO application form, click here.     4) I am using my own payroll software. How do I submit my e-submission files to the CPF Board?     Firstly, please ensure that the file created by your payroll software is compliant with our file format specifications. You may wish to consult your payroll vendor or IT support for assistance on this. Next, login to the Employer Returns website using your SingPass. Select 'Submission of Contribution Details’ and attach the file. Check that you have received an online file acknowledgement as well as an email acknowledgement.     5) What are Advice Codes for and how do I use them?   If you are submitting more than one file in a month for the same Employer Reference Number (ERN), you will need to assign a different advice code for each file. Advice Codes act as a file numbering system to differentiate files created for different groups of employees belonging to the same ERN.       6) Can I submit more than 1 file per employer reference number in a day?     You may not perform more than one file submission per day. However, if you are using our Auto-eXcel software, you may combine multiple files into a single file for submission. To do this, simply create each file with a different advice code. Once all the files have been created, proceed to the file generation screen and select all the files you wish to combine. Click “Generate File” and it will prompt you that you have selected more than one file. Clicking “Yes” will create the combined file, and you may then login to our website and perform the e-submission. If you are using your own payroll software, please contact your vendor for assistance.     7) If I have multiple employer reference numbers, can I submit them all in the same file?     Yes, you can. See Question 6.     8) If I have already submitted a file, can I request to over-ride it with a new file?     Yes, as long as it is done within the same day and before 5pm. You can discard the original file and re-transmit a new file. All files will be processed after 5pm daily.     9) What happens if I forget to discard the original file before sending a new file?     You will not be able to send a new file within the same day if there is already a file in the 'Submitted' status. Our system will prompt you to discard the original submitted file before allowing you to transmit a new file within the same day.     10) When will the submitted file be processed?     All files submitted before 5pm will be sent for processing on the same day. Those received after 5pm will only be processed the following day.     11) Will there be any acknowledgement for the file transmitted?     Yes, you will receive an immediate online message as well as an e-mail from the Board within an hour acknowledging the receipt of your file. Please note that the acknowledgement serves only as evidence of file transmission and is not an indication that the file has been processed. If there are any file rejections, you will be informed one working day after the date of submission.     12) What happens if the file I have transmitted is not in the correct layout ?     Our e-mail will state the error(s) found. You are advised to correct the identified area(s) before re-transmitting a new file.     13) Will there be any difference in the grace period?     No, you will be given up to 14th of the month to submit your contributions.     14) Will I receive a Record of Payment?     Yes, you will receive the Record of Payment (ROP) by post when the GIRO deduction has been successful and the amounts credited into your employees' CPF Accounts. You will also receive email notification to retrieve a softcopy ROP from our website approximately 3 working days after GIRO deduction.     15) What is the difference between the Test and Live status for e-submission?     Employers who opt for e-submission via FTP mode will be given a choice to perform a test submission before being put onto Live e-submission. The purpose of the test is to ensure that your pc is setup correctly for e-submission. The test will also allow you to familiarise yourself with the e-submission process. However, it is very important to remember that test submission files will NOT be processed. As such, you are required to continue with your usual mode of submission and payment until your test submission is successfully completed.     16) I’ve checked to ensure that I am using the latest version of Auto-eXcel, yet I keep getting an error message that my file is created using an incorrect version.     If you have recently updated the Auto-eXcel software on your pc, please ensure that you regenerate the e-submission files for submission using the new version before attempting to perform e-submission. Files generated using the previous version of Auto-eXcel will be read as outdated, even after the software has been updated. It is also possible you may have generated the file correctly using the new version of Auto-eXcel, but mistakenly attached the wrong file at the point of submission. To avoid this mistake, it is advisable to give the newly generated file a different name.     17) Why do I keep getting a file extension error when trying to perform e-submission?     The FTP files for e-submission should have a .txt, dtl or .dat extension. Please check that your file ends with one of these extensions. Another possibility is that you have tried to regenerate the same file twice. Upon overwriting the previous file, Auto-eXcel appended an additional .txt extension to the filename. Under certain settings, Windows XP will hide file extensions, so the original .txt extension will be hidden. Thus when Auto-eXcel appends the .txt extension to the file, there will be a double extension in the filename (however the file will look normal as one extension will be hidden). In this case, it is necessary to delete the .txt extension from the file and re-submit the file.     18) The website “hangs” after I key in my SingPass.     Please visit the SingPass website www.singpass.gov.sg for more information on the system requirements and follow the instructions to download the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) application.     19) The website “hangs” after keying in my SingPass ID.     Your SingPass ID will be your NRIC or FIN number. Please do not confuse this with your SingPass password. Please check that your SingPass ID is keyed in correctly.     20) I’ve forgotten my Auto-eXcel password. How can I reset it?     In order to protect confidentiality of employee data, resetting Auto-eXcel will result in all the previously keyed data being erased. You should delete the folder “AX Admin” from the directory in which Auto-eXcel is installed (the default location is c:\Programs Files\CPF Auto-eXcel\). Upon restarting Auto-eXcel, you will be prompted to key a new password.     21) I have downloaded and installed the latest version of Auto-eXcel over the previous version, but my previously keyed templates are missing.     Please ensure that you have installed the new version in the same directory as the previous version. If you have not done so, then Auto-eXcel will not be able to locate your previously keyed templates. Alternatively, you may copy the “AX Admin” folder from the previous version to the new version’s location to access the old templates.     22) I am getting an “invalid file layout” error when performing e-submission.     If you are using your own payroll software, please contact your vendor for support. If you are using Auto-eXcel, it is possible that you failed to click the Save and Confirm at the summary page before generating the file e-submission file.     23) I have just performed Test Submission. When will I be notified of the result?     We will notify you within 2 working days. If the test file is successful, you will be notified via an email on the test result. If the test file is unsuccessful, our e-submission officers will contact you personally or send an email to you on the type of error. You will then be required to rectify the error and resubmit the test file again. Please remember that test files will NOT go for deduction even if they are successful. In the meantime, you are required to continue with your usual mode of submission and payment while waiting to be put onto Live e-submission.     24) How do I delete my old templates?     Make use of the “housekeep files” function in the main menu of Auto-eXcel.     25) I am not receiving notifications in my email for my Test / Live e-submissions.     Email notifications for Test & Live e-submissions will only be sent to the email addresses that were supplied by your company in the registration form. Please ask your Administrator to check the email addresses registered by logging into our website. If necessary, please fill out the Addition/Deletion of Staff Accesses form to update new email addresses (maximum of 2). Please also perform regular housekeeping on your email inbox to ensure that incoming mails are not rejected due to the mailbox being full.     26) Does Auto-eXcel compute annual wage ceiling capping?     No, Auto-eXcel does not compute annual wage ceiling capping as it does not track wages on an annual basis. The annual wage ceiling cap will have to be calculated manually. You can then input the amount into a new template after checking the “Other Payments” tick box.         Mode of Payment   1) Must payment be made through GIRO only? Can we pay by cheque?     All payments must be made through GIRO or Internet Banking. Cheques will not be accepted. For a copy of the GIRO application form, click here. If you are currently paying your CPF contributions through GIRO, you need not re-apply.     2) What are the Giro Deduction options available?     14th Day Deduction (on the last day of grace period) For files received between the 1st to the 12th of the month, deduction will be effected on the 14th of the month. For files received between the 13th to the end of the month, GIRO deduction will be effected 2 working days after the date of submission. Scenario 1: Employer A submits CPF contribution details for the month of May 2005, on 1/6/2005 before 5pm. Deduction will be effected on 14/6/2005.   Scenario 2: Employer B submits CPF contribution details for the month of June 2005 on 18/6/2005, before 5pm. Deduction will be effected after 2 working days, on 20/6/2005.    Next Day Deduction GIRO deduction will be effected 2 working days after the transmission of your CPF contribution details. Scenario: Employer C submits CPF contribution details for the month of May 2005 on 6/6/2005 before 5pm. Deduction will be effected on 8/6/2005.         Usage   1) What version of web browser does this service support?     Window OS - Internet Explorer 5.x and 6.0 (with Java Virtual Machine installed) - Netscape Navigator / Communicator 4.75, 4.79 MAC OS X (Ver10.x) - Netscape Navigator 7.0 (with Java Virtual Machine installed) - Safari 1.3     2) What browser settings are required to use this service?     In order to use the SingPass, your browser must have the following features enabled.   - Cookies   - Java Applets   - JavaScript   - SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Version 3.0 For more information on settings, click here.   Back       Some of the documents on this page were created in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To view and print these documents, you will need Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader. You can download it by clicking on the Get Acrobat Reader icon: